2ND LD: Japanese stage Tibet protest before Malaysia torch relay

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH ARREST OF BRITISH WOMAN, PROTEST BY CAUCASIAN MAN)

A Japanese man and wife and their young son were taken into protective custody by local police after staging a brief pro-Tibet protest Monday prior to the start of the Kuala Lumpur leg of the Olympic torch relay, according to witnesses and police.

The trio yelled ''Free Tibet!'' and attempted to wave a Tibetan flag at Independence Square in the Malaysia capital, where the first runner was due to set off, according to the witnesses.

They were jostled by many Chinese attending the event before being taken into custody by police for ''documentation purposes,'' according to the police.

The trio is still being held at a Kuala Lumpur police station, but there has been no indication if they will be charged with any offense.

Later, a British woman wearing a ''Free Tibet'' T-shirt was taken into custody and in a third incident an unidentified Caucasian man charged toward runners near the KL Tower in the city center.

The man was wearing a shirt emblazoned with ''Beijing tortures human rights'' and was shouting ''Shame! Shame! Shame!'' as he tried to approach the torch.

The Olympic torch relay has become a magnet for protests by critics of China's human rights record and its brutal crackdown on recent protests in Tibet.

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