PPBM says teen was potential threat to Mahathir
Video showing 17-year-old boy in an apparent chokehold as his father tries to break him free, has gone viral.
Its information chief Yaakob Osman said the youngster had at first shaken hands with the 92-year old PPBM chairman before he attempted to forcefully embrace him. This sudden move led to the boy being immediately whisked away by the security detail on duty.
“In this instance the security detail saw this as a threat and removed him from the perimeter.
“This was to prevent any unwanted incidences and we would like to stress that the youth involved was not roughed up as alleged,” Yaakob said in a statement today.
The 17-year-old’s father today lodged a police report over what he alleged was the aggressive manhandling of his son by the security personnel.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight as Mahathir was leaving the Seberang Perai Municipal Council field and heading towards his car.
A video of the incident which shows a PPBM security member apparently putting the boy in a chokehold, has gone viral on social media.
In the three-minute clip, the boy’s father is seen struggling angrily with officials, demanding his son be let go.
The man, who only wanted to be known as Faisal, helped his son lodge the report at the Kepala Batas police station a short while later.
Faisal, who is in his 50s, also claimed to be a “former senior leader in Penang PKR.”
“My son was just trying to see Dr Mahathir,” he told reporters outside the police station.
Security at events featuring opposition leaders, especially Mahathir who is Pakatan Harapan chairman, has been ramped up following the violent disruption at the Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum on Aug 13.
The event at the Dewan Raja Muda Musa in Shah Alam saw flares, chairs and shoes hurled by the audience while Mahathir was fielding a question on the Memali incident of 1985 on stage.
Yesterday’s event, called Jelajah Semarak 3M-Mahathir-Muhyiddin-Mukhriz, and organised by PPBM, also featured party president Muhyiddin Yassin and deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng spoke as a guest at the rally which attracted about 3,000 people.
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