A police officer today told the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) that he did not smash the windscreen and kick the car of an alleged participant who took part in the 100,000 People's Gathering demonstration at Jalan Kebun along the Kesas highway in Klang on Nov 5 last year.

"I do not think that I could have reached far enough to hit his windscreen as my foot was on the bonnet of the car," special operations officer DSP Bahwandi Hiralal told the inquiry which is looking into allegations of police brutality during the Keadilan-organised gathering.

Bahwandi, from the Selangor police headquarters, stated that he had his foot on witness Monashofian Zulkarnain Putra's car to stop him from running him over.

He was responding to a question posed by Suhakam commissioner and inquiry panel member Mehrun Siraj.

"In order to stop his car from knocking me, I put my foot on the bonnet and tried to push the car backwards with my leg. At this juncture, I saw ASP Amidon Anan and ASP Shamsudin Mat coming to help me.

"We ordered Monashofian and those in the car to come out, but they refused to do so. I then ordered the car to be towed away with the occupants in it," Bahwandi said.

Traffic jam

Bahwandi told the three-member inquiry that Monashofian was the leader of a group chanting reformasi slogans and that he had organised a small pocket of protestors to park their cars on the highway, causing a traffic jam on the road.

"Dato Mangsor, the Selangor CID chief, spoke to this person (Monashofian) telling him that what they were doing was illegal and they were causing a traffic jam by parking their cars on the highway and that the gathering was illegal as no permit was issued," he said.

During the inquiry's hearing on Dec 11 last year, Monashofian claimed that Bahwandi and other police officers had damaged his car ([#1] 'I was hit with a tear gas cannister' [/#], Dec 11).

He said that a group of uniformed policemen whom he identified as Bahwandi and Shamsudin had smashed his windscreen and kicked his car door.

"ASP Shamsudin kicked my door until it was dented and Bahwandi dented my car bonnet," he alleged.

He said that another police officer shattered his car's rear windscreen.

Monashofian said that his car was then towed away with him still inside and was taken to the Port Klang police station where he was detained for five days.

Verbal abuse

Bahwandi later added that he did not know what had happened to Monashofian after his car was towed away.

"I do not know where the car was towed to for my immediate concern was to disperse the illegal assembly and to coordinate the operations to this effect," he said.

Mehrun then asked why Monashofian had been arrested and not allowed to leave the area contrary to police dispersal methods.

"For the details pertaining to the arrest, you would have to ask ASP Amidon. He (Monashofian) was also hurling verbal abuse at Amidon," he said.

Mehrun then asked Bahwandi if the commanding officers were able to observe the conduct of subordinates during the gathering to which he replied that "it was hard for the officers to know what had happened after giving their orders".

When told of allegations of participants being beaten and abused, Bahwandi then said that the situation that day was chaotic and that people were running helter-skelter knocking into cars and each other before the Federal Reserve Units moved forward.

The inquiry will continue on March 8 with another witness being called from the police force.

The inquiry is being chaired by Anuar Zainal Abidin, former Chief Justice of Malaya, assisted by Simon Sipaun, chairperson of the Sabah Civil Service Commission, and Mehrun, former dean of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Law Faculty.