The Irene Fernandez 'false news' hearing continued today with further testimony o­n torture allegedly suffered by a defence witness - a former inmate at a detention camp - who claimed he was "forced to masturbate with toothpaste all over his penis".

Bangladesh national Mohd Shahabuddin was testifying about physical and mental abuses he endured while detained at the Tanah Merah detention centre in Kelantan in 1995.

Recounting details of the incident, the witness said a policeman told him to enter a toilet and then to expose his genitals.

"I opened my sarung and I showed him my penis. Police took out (a tube of) toothpaste from his pocket and pressed the toothpaste o­n to my palm and asked me to 'rub (it) o­n your penis'," he said.

When asked by defence lawyer Peru Valen to state how he felt after the act, he said: "I felt that it is a Muslim country. Being naked, given toothpaste and asked to masturbate and to do this act, I felt very bad."

Mohd Shahabuddin also said the policeman had used the word 'Sona' - which means gold in Bengali - a term his village people use to describe male genitals.

Elaborating, he said after masturbating for about two to three minutes, he ejaculated and felt a burning sensation.

As a result of the trauma, the witness claimed he became incapable of indulging in normal sexual activities and was forced to seek treatment in his country.

He also demonstrated how the policeman showed him how to masturbate.

Shahabuddin, 37, was testifying at the trial of labour activist Fernandez. The hearing resumed early this month after a 20-month hiatus.

Fernandez ( photo ) is charged under Section 8A(2) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for "maliciously publishing false news" after she released a memorandum at a press conference in August 1995 about alleged torture and deaths in camps for illegal immigrants.

The trial, which began in June 1996, is the longest running to date in Malaysian legal history.

Cross-examination

DPP Abdul Rahman Redza tried to establish whether Mohd Shahabuddin was literate and able to do arithmetic.

He also asked the witness how he knew he had arrived in Kelantan and how he realised that he was in the Tanah Merah camp.

The DPP also attempted to show that Shahabuddin had 'stolen' coconuts and eaten them.

"I am trying to show that the witness is not sure about most of the things he said. When it comes to places, he relies o­n what others tell him," said Abdul Rahman.

However, Valen rebutted this by saying that records of the case "have been burnt" and that the prosecution was not able to assist the court o­n anything about the officers o­n duty.

"Prosecution has access to all the documents at all material times, including the photographs of the detainees. Let the prosecution be brave enough to say that he wasn't there or I will make an application under Section 51 (to get names of the officers, under the Criminal Procedure Code)," Valen said.

"If you fail to produce it, I will draw an inference under Section 114 (g) (of the Evidence Act, o­n corroboration). You can't take the line of questioning when you were not there, that this is what happened."

Mohd Shahabuddin is o­ne of two Bangladeshi witnesses called by the defence. After a four-hour sitting, Magistrate Julianna Muhammad adjourned the case to Feb 19.

Up until 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.

During the earlier stages of the trial, other former inmates provided the court with graphic details of their experiences, which included testimonies o­n alleged beatings by the police and about inmates being subjected to acts of sexual perversion.

If convicted, Fernandez could face up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to RM20,000. She is currently o­n bail.