A former inmate at an immigration detention camp today related the journey he took to enter Malaysia eight years ago in his testimony for the defence in the Irene Fernandez 'false news' trial.

In a half-day trial, Bangladesh national Mohd Shahabuddin narrated the hardship he faced during the journey to Malaysia and the humiliating treatment he received after being caught by local authorities.

He told the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court that he first came to Malaysia in 1995 after having paid 'agents' in Dhaka to bring him into the country.

"To come to Malaysia, I sold my land, borrowed from my father-in-law's family and my brother-in-law. I also sold my cow. In total, I gave the agent BDT60,000 (RM3,897) to come to Malaysia," he said via a court interpreter.

Shahabuddin was the first witness to testify in the trial since it resumed on Tuesday after a 20-month hiatus. Up till May 2001, when the case was last heard, the prosecution had called a total of 35 witnesses while 20 witnesses had testified for the defence.