Updated version Saedin Wateh alias Pak Din, a businessman, told the Human Rights Commission inquiry this morning he was assaulted when he tried to intervene on seeing a policeman kicking an old man at a gathering at the Kesas Highway on Nov 5.

Saedin said the old man, who had squatted in front of him, was rubbing his eyes due to tear gas when a policeman in riot gear approached.

"The policeman kicked him (the old man) in the back and he fell. He was then detained by the policeman.

"I reprimanded the policeman, telling him not to kick the old man," Saedin told the panel hearing the inquiry.

The three-member Suhakam panel, headed by former judge Anuar Zainal Abidin, is investigating allegations of police brutality at a reformasi gathering along the Kesas highway on Nov 5 which was attended by about 10,000 people.

"Suddenly, after I had scolded the policeman, somebody caught hold of me and I was punched several times in the cheeks and also kicked in my private parts," Saedin said.

He said he later heard some "spraying noises" from some two to three feet in front of him.

"I felt intense pain in my eyes and became blinded," he said.

Detained in truck

Saedin also claimed that the riot police were not pointing their tear gas canister launchers upwards but rather right into the crowd.

At one point, he claimed that the riot police were aiming directly at Dr Wan Azizah Ismail (photo), wife of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, and at PAS president Fadzil Nor.

Saedin said that after being blinded, he was pulled by the trousers and placed in a police truck, which already had about 40 people in it.

Saedin and those detained were taken to a police operations centre that had been set up at the SM Jalan Kebun. For the four hours that Saedin was detained there, he detailed more instances of alleged police brutality.

"I was holding on to the railings in the truck as my eyes were in pain. I also heard people saying prayers. The police were shouting 'Kurang ajar! Ambik minyak pewangi!' .

"They sprayed me with chemical irritants again many times in the truck while it was parked at the operations centre. Others who were injured were also sprayed. The injured were bleeding from the ears and the nose," he said.

Denied medical attention

Saedin also said that he was denied medical attention both at the police operations centre as well as at the Port Klang police station when he was finally taken there.

"I was refused medical treatment both at the police operations centre at Jalan Kebun and later at the police station," he said.

Saedin said that even with the presence of a lawyer, he was still denied medical attention. He claimed that he was only taken to the hospital at 6am the next morning.

"My eyes could not open and were watering heavily. The doctor said that I had to see the eye specialist at 9am. He did not give me any medication but told me to wait for the specialist.

"But the police took me back to the police station instead. The lawyer told the police to bring me back to the hospital at 9am but I was only brought back at 1pm. Even this had to be at the request of the lawyer," Saedin said.

He said he (photo) was admitted to the hospital for nine days and for three of the days he was blind. He said that before being sprayed with chemical irritants by the police, he never had to wear eyeglasses but now he needed spectacles only to read.

"I will get headaches if I don't use the glasses," he said.

Wan Azizah to testify

The inquiry will continue tomorrow at Suhakam's headquarters at Menara Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.

Anuar is being assisted in the inquiry by Simon Sipaun, chairperson of the Sabah Civil Service Commission, and Professor Mehrun Siraj, who is the former dean of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Law Faculty.

Representatives from the police and the Attorney-General's chamber were not present at the inquiry today despite being invited by Suhakam to observe the proceedings.

Among the witnesses scheduled to be called tomorrow include Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, Mahfuz Omar, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pokok Sena and Muhamad Sabu the Kuala Kedah MP.