400 cops on duty during Bersih rally
Published on: Friday, June 17, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: About 400 police officers and personnel were on duty during the Bersih rally organised by its Chairperson Jannie Lasimbang, a police officer informed the Magistrate's Court here, Thursday.Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Fauzi Abdul Kadir, 38, said the officers and personnel were divided into several groups after they launched the Ops Aman Bersih 4.0."Among the groups were for riot prevention, traffic control, security cover, air monitoring, marine safety and District Control Centre (DCC) as well as raid and arrest investigation.ADVERTISEMENT "Each group had its own chief who were to give orders and relay information directly to me and the DCC."The police officers and personnel were placed in several places namely Sabah Trade Centre, City mosque, Tanjung Lipat 1 and Tanjung Lipat 2," said Fauzi.Fauzi was testifying as the seventh prosecution witness in the continuation of Jannie's trial before Magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus.According to Fauzi, in Aug 2015, he received a directive from City Police Chief ACP M. Chandra to be the acting City Public Order Division and Traffic Chief as its Chief one ASP Sylvester was in hospital.ADVERTISEMENT "Chandra ordered me to monitor the Bersih rally and arranged the tasks for the officers and personnel during the rally."On Aug 28, 2015, the officers and personnel involved in the Ops Aman Bersih 4.0 were given a briefing by me.
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"And on Aug 29, 2015 all the officers and personnel were at the designated locations before 9am," said Fauzi who also monitored all the locations on that day.Fauzi added that at 11am on Aug 29, he received information regarding the individuals who gathered at the Sabah Trade Centre and City Mosque parking lots and they were wearing yellow T-shirts adorned with the words Bersih 4.0.He then directly informed the situation to Chandra who ordered him to instruct all the officers and personnel on duty to continuously monitor the individuals' movement and activity.Fauzi also told the court that while he was on duty that day, starting at 2pm, he saw the individuals march, holding banners and placards from the Sabah Trade Centre towards Tanjung Lipat.Jannie stands charged with failing to comply with conditions stipulated in the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 in organising the rally on Aug 29 and Aug 30 at the Teluk Likas Public Park, Tanjung Lipat, in Likas.Jannie, 53, had, on Oct 21, 2015, pleaded not guilty to two main charges and another two alternative charges.Under the first and second main charges, Jannie is accused of failing to tender a copy of the consent letter from City Hall, as owner of the Teluk Likas Public Park, when notifying City Police Chief ACP M. Chandra on Aug 19 as required under Section 10© of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012.This is tantamount to non-compliance of the PPA's 10-day notification requirement before the date of the rally. The offence was allegedly committed between 2pm and 9.30pm on Aug 29 and between 10am and noon the next day on Aug 30.Each of the charges, framed under Section 9(1) of the PAA 2012 and punishable under Section 9(5) of the same Act, provides for a fine of up to RM10,000 on conviction.As for the two alternative counts Jannie stands accused of failing to comply with the condition set by Chandra, that is to get consent from the owner of the venue, City Hall, to use the public park for the rally.She allegedly committed the offence between 2pm and 9.30pm on Aug 29 and between 10am and noon the following day on Aug 30.The alternative charges under Section 15(3) of the PAA 2012 also carry a fine of up to RM10,000 each if convicted.Meanwhile, the prosecution's sixth witness, Sergeant Sharin Naming who is the photographer attached with the Kudat police station, said he took about 79 pictures during the two-day rally and put all the pictures in CDs.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Deputy Public Prosecutor Gan Peng Kun conducted the prosecution while counsel Ram Singh defended Jannie and counsel Dominic Ghani is holding a watching brief for Suhakam.Trial continues.