Deputy IGP denies cops will include taser guns as anti-riot weapons
BY RAHMAH GHAZALI
KUALA LUMPUR: The Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim (pic) has now denied that the police will include taser guns as part of their anti-riot weapons for the upcoming Bersih 4.0 rally this weekend.
“No, we will not use them for the Bersih rally,” he told reporters after attending a launch of the iselamat.my website here, Tuesday.
He said the taser guns are in their possession and have been distributed to different police departments.
“The taser guns have been scientifically proven to temporarily paralyse the criminals, and we will use them in the future when the situation warrants it,” he explained.
A Chinese language newspaper, Oriental Daily had quoted Noor Rashid on Monday as saying that the protestors might be stunned with taser guns if they riot, become violent or resist arrest.
“In any situation, the police will follow their standard operating procedure (SOP). If the situation needs to controlled, police will use the tasers to stun the suspect, in line with their SOP,” he was reported as saying.
Noor Rashid then urged the public to cooperate and be responsible, as the police respect their rights to their freedom of expression and movement.
“We will facilitate, but if they break any laws, we will take stern action against them,” he said.
Coalition for free and fair election (Bersih 2.0) will hold its fourth rally from Aug 29 to 30 to demand for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to resign over his handling of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MBD).
It said the overnight rally will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah and Sarawak starting 2pm on August 29.
The police have deemed the rally “illegal”.
