Maria Chin hauled up by police on eve of Bersih rally

(The Star) – Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah and its secretariat officer Mandeep Singh have been taken to the police station here for further questioning.

At 5.15pm, a Bersih 2.0 tweet stated that they were taken out of the Bersih office and were heading to the police station.

Its tweet said: “Police have confiscated 10 laptops, our payroll and bank statements. They will be taking Maria and Mandeep to IPD PJ.”

In an earlier tweet, it was stated that the Bersih office was locked out for outsiders, including lawyers, for about two hours.

“No news from the inside,” the tweet said as police and Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) officers conducted their raid at the office.

Police later said that SSM did not participate in the raid.

Meanwhile, former Bersih 2.0 co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan told The Star Online in a text message that the action by the authorities against Bersih and its supporters could trigger a bigger turnout at Saturday’s rally.

“As you know now, Maria has been arrested. More people will come out,” she said.