71-year-old woman claims she was punched by police

A 71-year-old female protester has alleged today that she was punched and water was splashed on her face by police personnel.

The woman, who hails from Kuantan and who wished to be known only as Tow, was among the 512 people who were arrested at the Bersih 3.0 rally yesterday. She was later released at approximately noon earlier today.

Tow (right in photo) said a female police officer punched her as she was being pushed roughly into a police van.

“She punched my face, I kicked her back, and she was thrown backwards,” she said during a press conference arranged by DAP, at Masjid Jamek LRT station, Jalan Tun Perak in Kuala Lumpur today.

Tow even demonstrated how she was beaten and raised her leg to show how she kicked back.

She also claimed the officer wanted to beat her again, but was stopped by a senior officer.

The fiery elderly woman said she regretted she only counter-attacked once.

“I should have beaten her more,” she claimed.

Tow said while she was being escorted by two officers, a male officer came to her and splashed water at her face, and she was puzzled at such a move.

She also claimed she witnessed police brutality at Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tun Perak.

“I saw three gentle-looking young men being beaten near Dataran Merdeka,” she said, adding that over 10 officers took turns to beat and kick them.

Tow also noted that a few people were lying flat on the ground, not moving.

When asked what was her response to these incidents, she threatened to identify the officers if complaints were lodged by the alleged victims.

She claimed to remember the faces of these officers and that of the female officer who had punched her.

Tow claimed she was saddened by the senseless beating scene, saying, “It broke my heart, as if my own children been beaten.”

‘I saw about 50 injured protesters’

Another eyewitness and protester, Liu Yang, who was arrested yesterday, claimed he saw approximately 50 protesters who were injured, and that might be a sign of police brutality.

“Among them, I also noted 10 to 20 detainees covered with a lot of blood,” he said, adding that most of the detainees suffered injuries at the head area.

Liu said the wounded people were left untreated for as long as two hours, before they were sent to hospital.

“I noticed a man who had nearly fainted with an injury to his head. He had to use his shirt as a bandage.”

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