updated version

A Bangladeshi defence witness told the court today that a policeman gripped his penis and dragged him into his quarters during his detention in an illegal immigrants camp six years ago.

In his first day of testimony in the "false news" trial of Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez, Abdul Alim, 32, said that he was asked to strip naked and was searched for money when he arrived at the Machap Umbu camp in Melaka in February 1995.

"When they did not find anything on me, they returned my clothes. Then one policeman pulled my penis with his hand and dragged me into the block. He shouted, 'Go, Bangla!'," Abdul Alim said through an interpreter.

He said the police officer towed him by his penis for about two feet.

Asked by defence counsel M Puravalen how he felt during the incident, Abdul Alim said he cried as the pain was very intense.

"I can't recall experiencing such pain in my life before. It was so painful that I was sweating and I couldn't breathe properly.

"My head was spinning and I felt dizzy. Then I lost my balance and fell forward on my knees. I subsequently sat on the ground cross-legged, and pressed my hand and clothes against my genitals," he said.

He added that the policeman then ordered him to stand up and put on his clothes.

"It was very difficult for me to wear my shirt and trousers. There was a slight pain in my penis but I had to force myself to stand up because I was naked," he recalled.

Appointed camp iman

Abdul Alim also told the court that he was appointed as an imam (a person who leads the prayer) of the Bangladeshi inmates during his six-month detention in the camp.

"There was another imam earlier but he was not too good. I was tested and they appointed me to lead the prayers.

"The camp authorities also accepted my appointment as the imam . While I was in Bangladesh, I used to go to a madrasah (religious school) where I was trained to recite the al-Quran and the doa ," he said.

Abdul Alim is the fourth former detainee to testify in the trial. The trial which began in June 1996 is the longest ongoing criminal trial in the country's legal history.

Fernandez is being charged with "maliciously publishing false news" by releasing a memorandum at a press conference in August 1995 on torture and deaths at illegal immigrant detention camps.

The women's rights activist and Keadilan supreme council member faces up to three years in prison if convicted. She is currently out on bail.

Fernandez is being charged with "maliciously publishing false news" by releasing a memorandum at a press conference in August 1995 on torture and deaths at illegal immigrant detention camps.

The women's rights activist and Keadilan supreme council member faces up to three years in prison if convicted. She is currently out on bail.

Three failed attempts

Earlier, when the hearing resumed in the morning, Abdul Alim told magistrate Juliana Mohamed that he made three unsuccessful attempts to enter Malaysia through the Thai border.

He said he paid 48,000 taka (RM3,350) to an agent named Yusuf in Bangladesh.

"It was in December 1994. I paid him the money to arrange for my passport and trip as well as to find work for me in Malaysia.

"We took a plane from Dhaka to Bangkok. At the airport, a vehicle took us to Haadyai where we stayed for three days. Then we were taken to a house in Golok. There was a 'Haji' there with 15 to 16 other Bangladeshis," he said.

Abdul Alim added that he stayed in the house for a couple of days before he was taken to a riverbank.

"The 'Haji' and his men told us to take off our clothes. Wearing only shorts, we were asked to swim across a river at about 8pm.

"Guided by the men, we then trekked on foot through a jungle for about eight to 10 kilometers until we reached a clearing," he said, adding that his body was full of leeches and insects.

He recounted that the men left the group in the morning and told them that a vehicle would take them to Malaysia.

"When they left, we moved away from the clearing and waited in the bushes for the whole day. It rained and we were left there for three days. We just drank water from the ground," Abdul Alim said.

Detained in Kota Baru

He added that they were then arrested by the police and detained at the Kota Baru lock-up for 17 days.

"The police took our passports and belongings. I had RM10 with me and they took it.

"Then they put nine to 10 of us in one cell. We slept, ate, showered and excreted in the same cell. Every two or three days the toilet was flooded with waste. The cell was very smelly and I couldn't eat for many days," he recalled.

Abdul Alim added that the police returned his clothes on the day of his release but kept his passport and money.

The police then took him back to the riverbank before handing him over to the 'Haji', he recalled.

"We took a boat and crossed the river to Thailand. We were then taken to another house where we stayed for six days before we returned to the river and told to swim across again.

"We trekked the jungle for about three hours at night until we reached a clearing. We took off our clothes and removed the leeches and insects from our body," he said, adding that four hours later a vehicle took them to another jungle.

He added that he was told the vehicle would return at night to take them to Kuala Lumpur.

Arrested again

"We waited in the jungle for seven days. We ate leaves, roots and whatever we could find in the jungle. On the seventh day, when we were desperate for food, we went to search for food..

"The police saw us on the road and arrested us again. We were taken to the Gua Musang police station," he said, adding that he was stripped and searched for money.

He added that he spent 21 days in the lock-up with about 150 other detainees.

"At the end of the 21 days, the police took our fingerprints and sent us back to the Thai border. They told us they would shoot us if we came back.

"We spent two days in the jungle and one night in a hotel. The Haji's men looked after us. Then we crossed the river and went to a house," he continued.

Abdul Alim recounted the same process again.

"We were taken to a jungle at daybreak and set free. The men told us to leave. We stayed in the jungle for three days before we were arrested by the police again. 26 days later, we were sent to a camp in Melaka," he said.

The hearing was later adjourned to tomorrow morning.