SUHAKAM
Report of Public Inquiry into the Incidents During and
After the Public Assembly of 28 April 2012
44
ID 17(d): Used tear gas canister
4.8
Superintendent Zahari bin Hj Mohd Yusoff (W23) informed the Panel that the FRU
officers also used tear gas hand grenades during the assembly. A total of 58 tear
gas hand grenades were discharged on 28 April 2012. According to W23, the police
normally used tear gas hand grenades in two situations: for self defence or where
the protesters were very close to the police. He also asserted that warnings had to
be given each time they fired water cannon and tear gas, in line with the standard
operating procedure of the FRU.
4.9
Besides that, the Panel was also shown the complete attire of the FRU on duty at
the assembly. All FRU officers wore blue-black uniforms, boots, vests, helmets and
were equipped with hand shields.
4.10 The Panel was also briefed on the warning procedure during the assembly.
According to ACP Jamaludin, the warning was given through their command
vehicle and there were a few officers who brought the sound commander closer
to the participants to ensure that the instructions were heard clearly. The warning
“bersurai serta-merta atau kami akan bertindak” was given three times before the
water cannons were fired. However, W23 mentioned that banners in multi-language
were not used during the assembly.
4.11 The Panel also was informed that the barricades used during the assembly consisted
of four layers namely barbed wires, water barricades, steel barricades,36 followed
by human barricades. According to W23, those barricades were placed at several
areas with specific intervals as deemed appropriate.
36
The water and steel barricades belonged to Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.