The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will kick off a two-day public inquiry on July 23 over the alleged use of ‘excessive force’ by police on the residents during the Bandar Mahkota Cheras (BMC) fracas.

The public inquiry, which will be the sixth by Suhakam, will be held at its headquarter in Menara Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur between 9.30am and 5.30pm on July 23 and 24.

suhakam nasional human rights day 040906 zaitoon othman The three-member inquiry panel will consist of commissioners Zaitoon Othman (chairperson - photo ), Dr Chiam Heng Keng and Khalid Ibrahim, Suhakam announced in a statement yesterday.

According to the statement, the panel’s three-point terms of reference are:

a) To inquire whether or not there was any law enforcement personnel in performance of their duty to maintain law and order had used excessive force during the incident and;

b) If there was excessive use of force, whether there was any violation of human rights of any person or persons and, who were responsible for such violation.

c)To recommend what action to be taken against those responsible for the violation of human rights.

“As investigation are still ongoing, the number of witnesses testifying during the inquiry has yet to be confirmed. Subpoenas will be issued in due course to relevant witnesses including from the public, press and police,” Zaitoon said in the statement.

She added that although the inquiry is open to the public and the press, any video or audio recording of the inquiry however will not be allowed.

Decision on witnesses next week

Zaitoon could not be reached for further comment today but a Suhakam official when contacted said 35 statements have been recorded so far from the police, journalists and the eyewitnesses.

On whether the 35 will be among those to be called to testify at the public inquiry, the official said: “Highly probable. We will decide by next week, I can’t say at this juncture.”

cheras mahkota road barricade opened 290508 11 The official also pointed out that Suhakam could not determine the final number of witnesses as yet because they are awaiting for new eyewitnesses, if any, to come forward.

During the May 28 incident, mechanic Chang Jiun Haur was repeatedly kicked and beaten by some 20 FRU personnel armed with batons.

Chang, his sister and two friends were driving away from the site of the barricade about 11.30pm, when their car was surrounded by police personnel who had earlier dealt with a fracas involving BMC residents.

A high-ranking police officer at the scene claimed that Chang had run over a FRU personnel with his car.

Chang has since been charged with reckless driving under Section 42 of the Road Transport Act 1987. He has claimed trial and posted bail of RM3,000 pending the hearing on Aug 7.

Then, BMC residents had been involved in a long-running stand-off between the developer of the housing estate and highway concessionaire Grand Saga over a toll-free access road.

The highway concessionaire had erected a barricade across the road, but residents had removed it several times in protest.

On May 30, after the fracas, the federal government ordered the concessionaire to keep the road open.

This will be Suhakam’s sixth probe since its inception in 2000. Its previous public inquiries were into:

  • the Kesas highway incident (2001).
  • conditions faced by Internal Security Act detainees (2002)
  • alleged police mistreatment of villagers in Kundasang, Sabah (2004)
  • death of S Hendry while in police custody (2006)
  • alleged police violence in dispersing protesters in the ‘Bloody Sunday’ incident (2006)