Rowdy revellers attacked 2 Rela officers and newsman in attempt to releash they friend being caught.
Penang CPO Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob showing
photographs of trouble-makers at the recent Christmas
Eve public celebrations at Gurney Drive in Penang.
Rowdy Revellers turn ugly attacked Rela officers and newsman.
The usually rowdy Christmas eve celebration in Penang turned uglier than ever this year with two Rela members being punched, kicked and attacked with helmets by revellers.
A Bernama TV cameraman was also punched on the lips and pressmen were shoved by unruly revellers who sprayed aerosol foam on motorists and banged passing vehicles at Gurney Drive.
Light Strike Force members then had to intervene in one of the ugliest "celebrations" in the state in recent years.
A group of about 10 men bashed up the Rela members who had earlier hauled up one of their friends for giving passing vehicles a good shake.
They threw punches and kicked the Rela members in their apparent bid to free their friend, in his 20s, from being detained in the 12.30am incident on Friday.
The attacks took place while the Rela members and a plainclothes policeman were on their way to hand over the suspect to a nearby police base.
The attack which lasted several minutes only ended when the Light Strike Force unit, policemen and other Rela members moved in.
George Town acting OCPD Supt Gan Kong Meng said a 17-year-old factory worker was detained after the incident.
He said five police roadblocks were conducted that day to keep the situation in check.
Passers-by were stunned by the brazen attack on Rela members.
Even pressmen on duty were not spared as some were shoved by the revellers. They were later escorted away from the scene by police for safety reasons.
Bernama TV cameraman Gary Yeap, 20, lodged a police report at the Patani Road police station, claiming that he was punched on the lip.
Yeap said the man also threatened to harm him if the footage of the scene was shown on television.
At the stroke of midnight, thousands lined the popular sea front promenade, with many behaving wildly.
Traffic came almost to a standstill as the road was choked with revellers.
Youths holding snow spray cans sprayed foam onto the windscreens and side windows of passing motorists.
Some even lifted the windscreen wipers to prevent drivers from sweeping away the foam.
Supt Gan said more policemen would be deployed in hot spots and would be beefed up during New Year's eve.
Two pupils were charged in a magistrate’s court here with obstructing traffic policemen from discharging their duties following the Christmas eve celebration at Gurney Drive.
The due, aged 15 and 17, were arrested in the early hours of Christmas Day and brought before magistrate Noor Aini Yusof in her chambers Tuesday.
Noor Aini and the prosecution denied the press access to details of the case, including the wordings of the charge, the plea, and what transpired, because the boys were juveniles.The duo, aged 15 and 17, were held at 1am on Christmas Day for allegedly throwing spraycans at the traffic policemen who were deployed for traffic and crowd control. The remand order expires on Sunday.
Police believe the two were part of a group of 20 youngsters who had stopped cars and motorcyclists at Gurney Drive to spray foam on them.
The youths also allegedly jumped onto the cars and shook them before letting them drive on. Some motorists who refused to stop had salt, empty bottles and cans hurled at their vehicles.
Deputy state CID chief Supt Nashir Ya later confirmed the boys pleaded guilty under Section 186 of the Penal Code.
“They were released on bail and would be sentenced on Feb 9,” he said.
Those found guilty under this section is liable to face a three-month jail sentence or fine or both.
CPO warns of stern action for new year eve celebration not to break law.
Don’t spend New Year’s Day in my lockup – that was the warning issued by Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar to revellers.
He said police would not hesitate to take action against those who go overboard when celebrating on New Year’s Eve.
He said more police officers would be deployed to make sure there would be no repeat of the Christmas Eve mayhem.
While celebrating on Christmas Eve, thousands of rowdy revellers in Gurney Drive in George Town and Jalan Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur had indiscriminately sprayed foam at passing vehicles.
Some even kicked or stomped on cars which also resulted in two youths being arrested.
“All my men will be on stand-by on New Year’s Eve. We will clamp down on any disturbance to traffic or public order. Stern action will be taken,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Penang police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob warned those thinking of repeating the Christmas Eve chaos tonight to think again.
He said police would not tolerate any violence during the occasion.
He said police would try to maintain a balance between allowing people to have fun and keeping public order.
“Everyone is in a New Year mood and I understand it is not nice to spoil the fun. But those who intend to revel must behave and restrain themselves,” he told reporters after attending an Excellence Service Award ceremony at the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) base in Rifle Range, George Town yesterday.
George Town deputy OCPD (operation) Supt Mohd Soaihami said some 200 policemen and personnel from other authorities would be deployed at strategic locations to monitor the crowd.
Johor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said he was boosting the number of his men on the ground to cater for the thousands expected at Danga Bay and other places holding countdown parties.
“Besides the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), we are roping in policemen from other districts to ensure incident-free celebrations,” he said,
On the supposed sex party being planned in Johor Baru, DCP Mohd Mokhtar said: “We will come down hard not just on the organisers but the participants.”
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Previous Celebration near year 2008
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