Six more witnesses took the stand today in the RM83 million Apcet II suit filed against the government and police by a group of activists and journalists at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

They comprised five members of the organising committee and volunteers - Jerald Joseph, Faisal Sanusi, Kumar James Joseph Jonson, Suguna K Papachan and Deborah Stothard.

apcet 2 trial witnesses 061108 02 During the half-day hearing, they were cross-examined by a four-member legal team representing the government and police, on details of the incident in November 1996.

The sixth witness, R Jenagan (extreme right in photo) , was the second videographer who had recorded video footage of the incident along with Anna Har, who had testified on Tuesday and yesterday.

The 50-minute clip, compiled from the footage, showed how an Umno Youth-led mob had stormed into the conference on East Timor.

apcet ii hearing mob photos 100306 sequence Following Jenagan’s testimony, the video clip was admitted as evidence.

The government’s legal team had earlier questioned the admissibility of the clip since Jenagan had not testified as the second video-maker.

To date, 19 witnesses for the plaintiffs have given testimony. Two more are expected to be called next week.

Following this, the defendants will call their witnesses - several former senior police officers are expected to relate their version of the incident.

The court has fixed up to next Thursday to hear the case.

Judge checks on progress

Before the hearing was adjourned to Monday, Justice Wan Adnan Muhamad asked both parties about the progress of their discussions on a possible out-of-court settlement.

Yesterday, the government’s legal team had rejected a formal offer from the plaintiffs for the settlement. The sum was not disclosed.

Plaintiffs’ lead counsel Ranjit Singh explained today that the government had replied by letter, rejecting the offer on grounds that the proposed quantum was “unreasonable”.

He pointed out that since an offer has been made by the plaintiffs, the government should now come up with a counter-offer.

The RM83 million civil suit, filed in 1998, seeks damages from the government over wrongful detention and police negligence.

On Nov 9, 1996, over 100 people - including 10 journalists - were arrested on the opening day of the Second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor (Apcet II), held to discuss human rights abuses in East Timor and its struggle for independence from Indonesia.

apcet ii hearing mob photos 100306 loud speaker As the conference was about to begin, 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.

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.

A star witness testified previously that the Umno Youth-led mob was acting on the instructions of then deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayob to stop the conference.

Malaysiakini chief executive officer Premesh Chandran and editor-in-chief Steven Gan, both journalists at TheSun then, are among the plaintiffs.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO - The storming of Apcet II by Umno Youth

Part 1 l 10 min

Part 2 l 7 min

SPECIAL REPORT: Apcet II trial