KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 ― The policeman who was accused of throwing firecrackers during the Bersih 4 rally last Sunday was actually helping to nab the actual culprits, the police has said.
Kuala Lumpur CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad was responding to rally organiser Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Thomas Fann’s claims that a man carrying a police identification card had allegedly hurled the firecrackers.
“The policeman was identifying himself to the protesters by showing his ID,” Zainuddin was quoted saying by The Star Online.
Zainuddin also said the three men detained on Sunday for setting off the firecrackers were released on bail yesterday evening.
The incident where firecrackers were allegedly thrown at Bersih 4 rally-goers took place along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the news site said.
Another man was also nabbed in another incident for allegedly attempting to throw firecrackers at Bersih 4 rally-goers, it said.
The Star Online also cited Bersih 2.0 chair Maria Chin Abdullah as confirming that seven individuals were arrested while trying to hold a Bersih 4 rally in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The 34-hour Bersih 4 rally that kicked off last Saturday and ended at midnight on Sunday was held in Kuala Lumpur, with similar rallies held in capital cities Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, as well as in cities worldwide.
The rally, which was peaceful save for the provocateurs that were nabbed over the firecracker incidents, has five demands: clean elections; clean government; right to dissent; strengthening parliamentary democracy and saving the economy.
