The 'Apcet II' hearing has been postponed to July 17 as the federal counsel could not complete their submissions today.

The Apcet II trial is a RM83 million suit filed by 36 activists and 10 journalists against the government over their wrongful detention and negligence in arresting them during the Second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor on Nov 11, 1996.

The government's lawyers had wrapped up their case with their witnesses on Feb 19 and were supposed to make their submissions before Justice Wan Adnan Muhamad this morning.

apcet ii hearing mob photos 100306 sequence However it is learnt that the matter could not proceed as a member of the federal team was unwell.

Besides the government, three former police officers - the then Kuala Lumpur chief police officer Ismail Che Rose, Zainal Abidin and Tengku Hamzah - were also named in the suit.

Over 100 people - including 10 journalists - were arrested on the opening day of Apcet II, which was held to discuss human rights abuses in East Timor and its struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Before the conference could commence, some 400 members from the Umno Youth-led Malaysia's People's Action Front, broke down the doors of the conference hall, threw chairs and verbally and physically abused the participants.

The police then moved in to arrest the participants, claiming they had refused to disperse. The participants were detained between one and six days, while 40 foreign participants were deported.

Star witness Saifuddin Nasution, who was then Umno Youth secretary, had earlier testified that the mob was acting on the instructions of then Deputy Home Minister Megat Junid Megat Ayob to stop the conference.

'Not enough time to disperse'

Prior to today, the last witness on Feb 19 - Superintendent Zainuddin Ahmad, 46 - told the judge that he had submitted his full report on what had taken place during the melee.

apcet ii hearing mob photos 100306 confront However, the prosecution decided not to charge the participants of the conference for violating Section 27A (1)(c) of the Police Act for failure to abide by the police order to disperse because insufficient time was given for dispersal.

"However, the DPP (deputy public prosecutor) felt that the two-minute warning for the participants to disperse, given by Dang Wangi OCPD (police chief) Zainal Abidin Ali, was insufficient.

"Hence, the prosecutor's decision not to charge the participants despite my recommendations," Zainuddin had said.

apcet ii hearing mob photos 100306 sit down In all, 60 participants were arrested in the hall at Hotel Asia on the opening of the international conference in 1996 as well as seven Umno Youth demonstrators.

The government is represented by federal lawyers Iznan Ishak and Khairul Nizam Kamal while the prosecution team comprises Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Abdul Rashid Ismail, Gregory Ling and HK Neoh.

Amongst those arrested were Malaysiakini chief executive officer Premesh Chandran and editor-in-chief Steven Gan, who were then journalists at the Sun newspaper.

Other high-profile plaintiffs include Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohammad, PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali, PKR vice-president R Sivarasa, Parti Sosialis Malaysia president Dr Nasir Hashim and former New Era College principal Dr Kua Kia Soong.

SPECIAL REPORT: Apcet II trial