SUHAKAM Report of Public Inquiry into the Incidents During and After the Public Assembly of 28 April 2012 the group took about 10 minutes to dismantle it by toppling the water and steel barriers over the barbed wire, seemingly to allow passage past the barricade. 3.8 Once the barricade was breached, the PORU officers who were on standby behind the barricades retreated and were replaced by the personnel of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU). At least 4 FRU units were deployed,14 and upon W23’s command, two of the units, Troop 4 Alpha under Superintendant Zahari Haji Mohd Yusoff (W23) and Troop 4 Bravo under ASP Alekzandra bin Dawam (W25), took their positions facing Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman respectively. W23 testified that he gave a warning to the participants to disperse and repeated it three times, saying ‘Bersurai atau kami akan bertindak.’ 15 When the crowd retreated, W23 maintained his position, but upon seeing the participants moving forward again, he repeated the warning 2-3 times using a loud hailer. W23 instructed the first round of water cannon to be fired at about 3.15 pm.16 According to ASP Alekzandra bin Dawam (W25), the first round consisted of plain water, followed by rounds of water laced with chemical.17 W25 instructed his troop to start firing tear gas when the water cannons failed to disperse the participants. 3.9 Troop 4 Alpha and Troop 4 Bravo moved towards and onto Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman respectively, firing water cannon and tear gas continuously along the way. According to ASP Alekzandra bin Dawam (W25), except for the initial warnings, no additional warnings were given for the subsequent firing of the chemical-laced water or the tear gas. Troop 4 Alpha stopped firing when it reached the junction of Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Sultan Ismail (near the Sime Darby building). The troop was ordered to withdraw at 5.00 pm. Meanwhile, Troop 4 Bravo was ordered to turn back when it reached the SOGO Building at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman at about 4.30 pm. At about 6.30 pm, Troop 4 Bravo was ordered to proceed back to Jalan Tun Perak where they fired more water cannon and tear gas. Troop 4 Bravo turned back to Dataran Merdeka at about 7.30 pm, and returned to the FRU headquarters in Cheras at about 10.00 pm. 3.10 A number of witnesses claimed not to have heard any warnings before the firing of the water cannons or the tear gas, especially those who were farther away from the intersection of Jalan Raja and Jalan Parlimen. Some heard the sound of bells,18 but according to Inspector Ambri bin Mat Nayan (W33) the ringing of the bells was a command to the police FRU personnel to get ready to fire; it was not meant as a warning to the public. 14 15 16 17 18 The four FRU troops were Troops 1 Alpha, 1 Bravo, 4 Alpha and 4 Bravo. ‘Disperse, or we will disperse you’. Troops 4 Alpha and 4 Bravo fired the water cannon simultaneously. 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called o-chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile) (chemical formula: C10H5ClN2), a cyanocarbon, is the defining component of a “tear gas” commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agent. Arshad bin Abbas (W5) heard the sound of bells being rung three times, similar to an ice-cream truck, at about 3.05pm/3.10pm for 30 seconds. 13