Monday, September 10, 2007

Police Firing on Unarmed Civilians #2

I've recently read another version of the events that happened in Terengganu, yesterday. The incident resulted in two men being shot. The dude who got shot in the chest had to be transported to HUSM Kubang Kerian, for treatment. I'm guessing that they had certain specialists/facilities at HUSM that were lacking at HKT.

I'll try to summarise it. Essentially:

  1. The venue had been regularly used for public lectures in the past.
  2. But this time around, a permit was not issued by the police.
  3. So, the organisers had agreed with the police that they will disperse the crowd peacefully.
  4. The PAS members had identified someone in their midst who was trying to incite them. After confronting him, they found out that he was a plain-clothes policeman.
  5. In an already tense situation, a plain-clothes policeman was trying to incite the people. What would you do if you were there?
  6. Any normal person would obviously get angry at this.
  7. So, the policeman was confronted by the crowd. In his lame attempt to get away, he fired a few shots into the crowd.
  8. As a result, one person was shot in the chest, and the other was shot in the neck.
  9. Why was it necessary to fire live shots into a crowd of unarmed civilians?
  10. The headlines today should've read "Police Fired onto a Crowd of Civilians".
  11. A while ago, the organiser has called for an independent inquiry into the incident.
  12. Some have suggested that this entire incident had been pre-planned.
  13. Let's ask for a Royal Independent Inquiry to be formed.
Now, this is also just one side of the story. I have learnt from experience that there are always at least 3 sides to any story. The government has made it's case through the mainstream media. The opposition are making their case through the alternative media. I would say that we should all wait for the inevitable video clip to be posted onto YouTube. However, it's been reported that the police had confiscated everything on site.

Regardless of which version of events are true, one fact remains that all sides can agree upon. A police officer discharged his firearm into a crowd of unarmed civilians, which resulted in two injuries. This alone is a travesty that demands an answer. If the police are allowed to wantonly discharge their weapons onto the public, I'm afraid that rule-of-law has been usurped by rule-of-gun.

No comments: