St, July 29, 2006
Police: No conspiracy behind pepper spray attack
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN police yesterday warned rumour mongers
against spreading conspiracy theories concerning the pepper stray
attack on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan said speculation on
the Internet that men from the police special operations force were
behind the attack was not true.
He said police would take action against anyone spreading such
lies.
Both he and Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharom
said the police had nothing to do with the incident, which was
triggered by rival groups jostling to welcome Tun Dr Mahathir at
the airport.
One group was led by former Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali, while the
other was headed by former Kuala Krai deputy chairman Nik Sapeia
Nik Yusoff.
As they jostled, one man sprayed the chemical at Datuk Ibrahim
Ali's face, but it ended up hitting Tun Dr Mahathir and his aide
instead.
Datuk Mohd Johari said the gas discharged during the commotion was
pepper spray and not tear gas, which is often used to disperse
protesters and illegal assemblies.
He also dismissed speculation over the incident.
'I have just received various SMS messages saying Tun Dr Mahathir
is injured, abducted...all are not true,' he said. -- BERNAMA
