The third day of the Apcet II hearing saw heated exchanges in court when senior federal counsel Kamaludin Mohd Said - who was representing the police and government in the RM83 million civil suit - apparently losing his temper.

It began in the morning of today's hearing when Kamaludin suggested that the second plaintiffs' witness , Premesh Chandran, had lied during his testimony.

Plaintiffs' counsel Ranjit Singh immediately stood up to object to the suggestion, which he argued was unfair.

Raising his voice, Kamaludin ( photo ) turned to Ranjit and shouted: "When I talk, you sit down-lah."

Following this, High Court justice Wan Adnan Muhamad ticked off Kamaludin.

"When you (Kamaludin) object, you address me, you address the court. When he (Ranjit) objects, you sit down," he said.

The judge eventually ruled that Ranjit's objection to Kamaludin's suggestion was valid.

Premesh was testifying at a RM83 million civil suit - filed by 33 prominent local human rights activists and journalists - against the government and the police for wrongful detention and negligence.

The 33 plaintiffs in the suit had named the government, then inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor and two senior police officers - then Kuala Lumpur chief police officer Ismail Che Rose and then Dang Wangi OCPD Zainal Abidin Ali - as respondents in the multi-million ringgit suit.

Counsel cross swords

Kamaludin had earlier crossed swords with Ranjit during his cross-examination of Chandran.

The senior federal counsel had pressed Premesh - who was then a member of the Apcet II organising committee - to clarify a certain matter in his testimony.

As the witness attempted to refer to his witness statement before him, Kamaludin said: "Put down the statement, there is no need to refer to the statement."

An annoyed Ranjit ( photo ) asked the judge: "What's wrong with the witness referring to his witness statement to refresh his memory?"

Justice Wan Adnan agreed and allowed Premesh to refer his statement when answering questions.

This was not the first time Kamaludin was ticked off by the judge. Yesterday, the senior federal counsel also rudely reprimanded Premesh on the same matter of referring to his witness statement.

"You can tell the witness nicely. No need to raise your voice, (or else) the truth will not come out," said Wan Adnan.

However, there were also several light moments during the proceedings.

One was when Ranjit informed the court that Premesh, who is chief executive officer of online daily malaysiakini , had a scheduled flight to Cambodia in the afternoon and thus was unable to continue his testimony.

Wan Adnan quipped: "Is there a Cambodiakini?"

The courtroom, on hearing this, burst into laughter. After accepting Premesh's request, the judge told him: "You are released but you are not freed."

Premesh's cross-examination by Kamaludin will continue at the next session of the court hearing.

The courtroom today was packed with not only the plaintiffs ( photo ) in the suit but also members of the public.

Hearing will continue on Friday.

Day 1: Witness: Umno Youth-led mob acted like 'samsengs'

Day 2: Mob called us traitors, says witness

Day 3: Syed Husin: I was assaulted

Sparks fly at Apcet II trial