YB. R.S.N RAYER - A.D.U.N. SERI DELIMA, PENANG

MALACCA: Three DAP assemblymen were arrested, but later released on police bail, for investigations into damage caused to an abandoned lamp-cum-telecommunication pole in Bachang here yesterday.

In the 10.30am incident yesterday, Bachang assemblyman Lim Jak Wong had gone over to Taman Kesidang, Kampung Lapan, with state party chairman Goh Leong San and Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him to remove several metal rods at the base of a proposed telecommunication pole.
Lim, the Malacca state DAP secretary, used an electric saw to cut off 10 of the 10cm metal rods protruding from the base after failing to break them off with a hammer.

Handcuffed: Police arresting Lim in Bachang Thursday. He is being investigated for mischief during an unlawful assembly.

He was arrested shortly after the incident and taken to the Melaka Tengah police station for questioning, while Goh and Sim were detained at about noon after being called in by the police.
All three were released on police bail at about 5.30pm, and Lim was sent to the Malacca Hospital for a medical check-up after he alleged that he was assaulted by the police while in the lock-up.
The three are being investigated for mischief during an unlawful assembly, an offence that carries up to five years' jail and a fine.

Speaking to reporters later, Goh, the Kesidang assemblyman, said he was shocked by their arrest as they had merely gone over to address issues raised by residents of the area.
“We had finished at the site and gone for coffee at a nearby shop. However, I noticed several police personnel with Jak Wong when I was walking to my car. I later received a call from him saying he had been arrested,” he said.

Goh said he lodged a report over the alleged assault of Lim.
Sim also expressed dismay at the police action, claiming the three were merely attending to woes raised by the public.
“The metal rods posed a danger to residents and schoolchildren from nearby Tun Tuah secondary school. We had merely gone there to see how to resolve the issue,” he said, adding that there was no picket or demonstration.