Activist to be charged with obstructing public servant, says PSM

IPOH: An activist who was injured during an eviction process at a vegetable farm in Kanthan will be charged with obstructing public servants from performing their duties.

PSM deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan said Chong Yee Shan, who is also a party central committee member, was notified by police that she would be charged at the Ipoh Magistrate’s Court on Dec 27 under Section 186 of the Penal Code with obstructing a public servant from carrying out his duties.

He said that he believed the charge is related to an eviction exercise involving developers, the Perak Lands and Mines Department and the police carried out on Oct 24, 2023, at the Kanthan vegetable farm in Tambun, Perak.

“PSM condemns the charge. The Oct 24 eviction operation is highly disputed… the eviction issue continues to be heard in the Ipoh High Court,” he said in a statement on Friday (Dec 22).

During the eviction process, Chong was injured after she was allegedly shoved by a Lands and Mines Department officer.

“She sustained a serious injury to her right orbit (eye socket) with a fracture adjacent to the nose, which has affected her vision,” he said, adding that she now has double vision and is undergoing treatment,” he added.

It was reported that Chong and several others including PSM chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj and three others were also arrested by police during the incident in October.

Several videos of the incident were also posted on social media.

More than 130 farmers in Kanthan were reported to have been ordered to leave their farms.

Arutchelvan said a total of 45 police reports were lodged nationwide by individuals and organisations against the officer for injuring Chong.

He said a statement co-signed by the Kuala Lumpur Residents Action Plus for Sustainable Development, Alliance of River Three, Forum Kedaulatan Makanan Malaysia (FKMM), Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam, Aliran Malaysia and Greenpeace Malaysia also condemned the incident and demanded justice for Chong and the farmers.

Arutchelvan said the Attorney General needs to intervene and relook at the case.