The Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court heard yesterday that Bilqis Hijjas, daughter of renowned architect Hijjas Kasturi, was arrested for allegedly tossing yellow balloons with “provocative” printed words, linked to the Bersih 4 rally, at an event attended by the prime minister and his wife.
Pavilion KL mall's auxiliary police head, sergeant Norhalim Selamat, 37, said the woman should not have acted so because Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is the leader of the country and should be respected.
During the examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor, Norakmal Farhan Aziz, the witness (Norhalim) said besides ensuring the safety of civilians present, they also had to see to the safety of the prime minister and his wife to ensure the event went on smoothly, without any threats or disruption.
Norhalim, the fourth prosecution witness, said there were seven yellow balloons with the words 'Democracy', 'Free Media' and 'Justice' printed in black, which were dropped while he was on stage facing the seats of the prime minister and his wife Rosmah Mansor.
He said he saw the dropping of yellow balloons in stages, by a woman from the mall’s fifth floor to the event venue and that the balloons fell to the back of the stage.
Bilqis, 37, a dancer (artist), was charged with 'insulting behaviour' under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955. The offence was allegedly committed on the fifth floor of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Bukit Bintang, at 3.15pm on Aug 31, last year.
Norhalim said he ordered auxiliary police constable Irmalinda Zaimardy, 27, and a security executive at the mall, Karamjit Singh Shabeg Singh, 53, to go up to the fifth floor to find and arrest the woman.
He, however, said that bringing in non-helium gas balloons into the mall was allowed, but he viewed the act of deliberately throwing balloons in an attempt to disrupt the event as an offence.
When cross-examined by lawyer Eric Paulsen who represented Bilqis, Norhalim agreed that if the balloons brought into the mall had no writings and were not of a certain colour, it would not have been an offence.
The hearing before magistrate Mohd Faizal Ismail continues today.
- Bernama
