The defence counsel in the "false news" trial of Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez will this week file a formal application to the magistrate for a list of all police personnel on duty in the Semenyih illegal immigrants camp between February and April of 1995.

Defence counsel M. Puravalen last Wednesday made a verbal application for the list to be produced in court after Bangladeshi defence witness Zakir Hossain testified that he was forced to masturbate in front of two police guards, one of whom he said was Mohamad Ali.

When asked by Puravalen whether he could identify Mohamed Ali if he was produced in court, Zakir said "yes".

Deputy public prosecutor Ganeson Somasundram, however, objected to the application.

Ganeson said that the application under Section 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code should be rejected on several grounds, including that the defence's notice of motion was not supported by an affidavit, was not done in a formal manner and did not name a respondent.

Puravalen responded by arguing that Section 51 does not stipulate that the application must be formal.

According to him, the prosecution had earlier alleged that the defence witness could not identify the (police) officer, but when the defence said "yes", the prosecution opposed to providing the name list.

Puravalen argued that the objection from the prosecution was a further attempt to preclude evidence from the court, adding that the defence will file a formal application.

Meanwhile, the trial will resume on August 15. The date was fixed after both the defence and prosecution met for a mention in magistrate Juliana Mohamed's chambers yesterday.

Zakir is scheduled to continue his testimony when the trial resumes. In his testimony last week, he recounted several incidents of sexual and physical torture inflicted upon him and other detainees during his detention in the Semenyih camp near Kajang.

The 37-year-old is the third former detainee to testify in the trial. The trial which began in June, 1996, is the longest ongoing trial in the country's legal history.

Fernandez is being charged with "maliciously publishing false news" after she released a memorandum about tortures and deaths in the illegal immigrants detention camps at a press conference in August, 1995.

The women rights activist and KeADILan supreme council member faces three years in prison if convicted. She is currently out on bail.

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