(Media Conference Statement (2) by DAP Ipoh Timor parliamentary candidate Lim Kit Siang at Ipoh Timor Ops Centre on Wednesday, 5th March 2008)

IGP should suspend Segamat OCPD for using force on seven-month pregnant woman DAP candidate in Labis to demonstrate police respect for women dignity and rights.

The Johore police called an unprecedented 1.30 am press conference in Johore Baru yesterday morning to give their version of the scuffle over a mike between the Segamat OCPD Supt Abd Majid Mohd Ali and the seven-month pregnant woman DAP candidate for Labis Teo Eng Ching in Labis on Monday at about 2.30 pm during my 24-hour four-state 11-stop election whistlestop tour.

This is a reflection of the power of the internet for immediately after the scuffle in Labis at about 3 pm, the Internet was abuzz with reports of a police officer in a scuffle with a seven-month pregnant DAP parliamentary candidate which resulting in her being hospitalized, creating concerns about the health and welfare of both the mother and the unborn child.

In the 1.30 am press conference, Johore police chief Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Sharif denied that a police officer had used force against a pregnant woman DAP parliamentary candidate.

Mokhtar denied that the police officer had pushed anybody let alone take away by force the microphone Teo was using to say “thank you” to several hundreds of supporters who had turned up to welcome my visit.

Nobody alleged that the Segamat OCPD “pushed” Teo, but what is undeniable is that Abdul Majid was involved in a scuffle with the seven-month pregnant candidate when he tried to snatch her mike – as illustrated the photographs (below) and video tape on Youtube .

Mokhtar’s claim that it was Teo who did the pushing is both preposterous and outrageous, as borne out by the photographs and video clip.

I had gone up to Abdul Majid to urge him to refrain from continuing the scuffle with Teo in trying to snatch away the mike.

I find it most regrettable that the Police had given a selective and dishonest account of what happened, hiding photographs from the media which would have told the country the whole truth.

It is most shameful,for a police officer to use force on the seven-month pregnant DAP woman parliamentary candidate when all she wanted was to say a few words of thanks to the public who had gathered to meet me.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan should suspend Abdul Majid as Segamat OCPD to demonstrate police respect for woman dignity and rights instead of siding with him in his deplorable conduct r using force in a scuffle with a seven-month pregnant DAP woman candidate.

If the police are not prepared to do justice in the Labis seven-month pregnant woman DAP candidate case, then all Malaysians should use their vote on March 8, which is also the International Women’s Day, to express their condemnation of the police officer’s scuffle and using force on Teo on Monday.