SHAH ALAM – Police are conducting further investigation to identify security personnel who had allegedly assaulted three journalists during the launch of the Kelantan state Perikatan Nasional (PN), in Tanah Merah, Kelantan, yesterday.
The force’s secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin refuted the allegation that said the three victims were allegedly assaulted by the police’s Special Actions Unit (UTK).
"We confirmed that there were no UTK officers involved in the incident.
"Investigations are ongoing to identify the individuals involved in the incident,” she said in a statement.
Noorsiah added severe actions would be taken if the probe confirmed that violations of the code of ethics were made by any security officer at the event.
She stressed that the police valued media practitioners and respect their role in relaying information to the public, especially in the bid to fight crime in the country.
The close relationship between media practitioners and the police would be maintained so that the community gets accurate information through authentic sources, she said.
Media advocacy group Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) had revealed that a male reporter was purportedly slapped in the stomach while another female journalist was believed to have been gripped at the neck.
Both journalists claimed that they were assaulted by the bodyguard or the UTK personnel who tried to prevent them from standing near the stairs of the stage to take photos of the launch gimmick.
It was understood that another journalist was also pushed roughly so that he could not go near the stage.
However, it was not certain whether these were done by the same individual.