SUHAKAM Report of Public Inquiry into the Incidents During and After the Public Assembly of 28 April 2012 12 3.4 According to the police, barricades were erected in the early hours of 28 April at a few locations at Jalan Bunus, Jalan Masjid India, Jalan Leboh Pasar/Jalan Benteng and Jalan Raja/Jalan Parlimen.8 The barricades consisted of two types of barrier, that is, road water-filled barriers and steel barriers, in front of which, and facing the crowds, were mounted dannert or concertina razor barbed wires.9 Police personnel from PORU10 formed a human barricade behind the barricades. These barricades were mounted for the purpose of preventing the participants from entering Dataran Merdeka, apparently in compliance with the Court Order11 which the police had obtained ex-parte from the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Court on 26 April 2012, and pursuant to the powers of the police under section 26 of the Police Act.12 3.5 According to Superintendant Zahari Haji Mohd Yusoff13 (W23), while he was responsible for assembling the barbed wires, the other barricades were installed by the joint efforts of PDRM and DBKL. According to W23, the installation of the barricades was carried out the night before the assembly to prevent the participants from occupying the venue. ASP Alekzandra bin Dawam (W25), ACP Mohamad Zulkarnain bin Abd Rahman (W37) and Dato’ Mohmad bin Salleh (W49) confirmed the purpose of the installation of the barricades. 3.6 All of the witnesses agreed that they did not anticipate the turn of events nor the actions by the police. A few opposition leaders were seen at various locations with some giving speeches, including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Datin Seri Wan Azizah. According to Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan (W48), as the organiser, she also gave speeches to the crowd before calling upon them to disperse at or around 3.00pm. The participants were reportedly chanting slogans such as ‘Reformasi’ and ‘BERSIH’. According to W23, he could also hear the participants chanting ‘Rempuh’. 3.7 At approximately 3.00 pm, the participants were seen moving towards Dataran Merdeka. A number of witnesses close to the barricades claimed to have seen a small group of participants wearing either yellow or black T-shirts approaching the barricade along the intersection of Jalan Raja and Jalan Parlimen and proceeding to dismantle it. According to Superintendant Zahari Haji Mohd Yusoff (W23), 8 9 10 11 12 13 W23 assembled the first layer at 1.00 am on 28 April 2012. Khairul Anuar Pawanchik, W3. According to W23, however, the wires were known as dannert wires. PORU is the acronym for the Public Order and Riot Unit The Court Order which was obtained from the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Court by the police was pursuant to section 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Section 26 of the Police Act gives the police power to erect road barriers. It states, “(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, any police officer may, if he considers it necessary so to do for the maintenance and preservation of law and order or for the prevention or detection of crime, erect or place or cause to be erected or placed any barriers on or across any public road or street or in any public place in such manner as he may think fit; and any police officer may take all reasonable steps to prevent any person from passing or any vehicle from being driven past any such barrier”. W23 is the Pegawai Pemerintah Unit 1, Pasukan Simpanan Persekutuan