The Court of Appeal today unanimously rejected an appeal by a man who is suing the police and government for an alleged assault during the 2007 Bersih rally.

The three-member bench led by Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim ruled that there was no reason for it to disturb the ruling of the Kuala Lumpur High Court which did not rule in favour of the applicant, Aleyasak Hashim @ Hassan's lawyers against the defendants.

“There isn’t sufficient evidence brought forward by the appellant to support his case on the fact that his injury was inflicted by the respondents," Justice Abang Iskandar said.

Aleyasak is suing the Kuala Lumpur police chief, Dang Wangi district police chief, inspector-general of police, and the federal government for the assault.

The former contractor claimed that police officers had stomped on him during the 2007 Bersih rally, causing injury to his left kneecap which required surgery, and had put him out of work.

Senior federal counsel Andi Razalijaya A Dadi in his cross-appeal said Aleyasak had failed to identify the alleged assailants or prove that his injuries were caused by an attack.

As such, Andi said the defendants could not be held liable.

Aleyasak's lawyer Latheefa Koya however argued that her client could not identify the culprits because police did not investigate his claims thoroughly.

She added that it was also difficult to identify the assailants when being attacked.

The judges, however, ultimately ruled in the defendants' favour and awarded them RM3,000 in costs.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Latheefa said they have yet to decide whether or not to bring this case to the Federal Court.

Aleyasak's suit had failed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court because there was doubt whether his injuries were caused by the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU).

Judicial Commissioner Azizul Azmi Adnan, however, ruled that the assault did take place and that Aleyasak was an honest witness.

In the 2007 Bersih rally, the FRU had used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the 50,000 protesters.

Dozens of demonstrators were also arrested by police before being released on bail.