Police personnel watch as Anwar’s supporters gather in front of Palace of Justice. — Bernama photo
PUTRAJAYA: The assembly by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s supporters in front of the Palace of Justice did not have police permit, said Putrajaya police chief ACP Abdul Razak Abdul Majid.
He said the police did not receive any application for an assembly.
“To date, the assembly has been peaceful although it was held without permit,” he told reporters in front of the building here yesterday.
Abdul Razak was commenting on an incident in which New Straits Times Press cameraman Mohamad Shahril Badri was hit by an egg, believed to have been hurled from the direction of the assembly.
Meanwhile, the fence in front of the building was opened for supporters to seek shelter under a tent set up for an event organised by Putrajaya Corporation.
“They asked for the fence to be opened to get shelter from the rain which started at 3.20pm, and we opened it on humanitarian grounds,” said Abdul Razak.
Nonetheless, the police were still guarding the premises to prevent supporters from approaching the building’s compound, he added.
Yesterday is the second day of the hearing at the Federal Court in Putrajaya on Anwar’s appeal against his five-year jail sentence for allegedly sodomising his former personal assistant, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
The offence was said to have occurred at a Desa Damansara condominium unit in Bukit Damansara here between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. — Bernama