Apcet II: Detainees win suit, gov't ordered to pay

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered the government to pay RM30,000 each to 29 human rights activists and journalists wrongfully detained following Umno Youth’s disruption of the Apcet II civil society gathering in Kuala Lumpur more than a decade ago.

The government will now have to pay them a total of RM870,000 in general damages.

The plaintiffs were also awarded 8 percent interest per annum from the date the suit was filed on Nov 11, 1998.

Appeals Court Judge Wan Adnan Muhamad delivered his decision this morning, saying that "the facts here are clear and straightforward and the judgment is based on facts submitted by both parties."

"I think the amount is enough for the suffering endured during their detention of almost 24 hours behind bars,” he remarked.

The judge said the damages was not a reward but a compensation for the hardship that they had suffered.

The judge, however, dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim for aggravated, exemplary and special damages, saying they did not provide documentary proof for this, but only gave oral evidence.

The local activists and journalists had filed a RM87 million suit against the government two years after the incident.

He also dismissed their claim of a conspiracy involving the police and the government.

“There is no evidence that the defendant (former Dang Wangi OCPD Zainal Abidin Ali, left ) was trying to sabotage the conference to please the government,” he said.

Wan Adnan found that the extension of the remand by a magistrate and the application by the police were valid in terms of the law.

The judge, who delivered a gist of his written judgement, questioning Zainal's testimony that he had been unaware of the conference when the police raided the venue.

“During cross-examination he denied knowing about the mob, but there was a letter by (R) Sivarasa to then Deputy Home Minister Megat Junid Megat Ayob (right) seeking permission to host the event.

"Therefore, the outcome of the letter would have been informed to the OCPD, to which he later admitted that he was aware.”

The judge further noted that the two minutes given to the participants to disperse was not enough and that Zainal “acted recklessly” in making the arrests.

Senior federal counsel Izman Ishak, when approached outside the court, would not say if an appeal would be filed, preferring to reserve comment.

Prosecution reserves comment

The suit was filed against the government after the group's "wrongful detention" at the Second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor (Apcet II) on Nov 9, 1996.

The international conference was organised to discuss human rights abuses in East Timor and its struggle for independence from Indonesia.

It was held at the Asia Hotel in Kuala Lumpur and saw nasty scenes when a mob led by Umno Youth stormed the venue and harassed the 100 participants.

On that day, as the conference was about to begin, 400 members of the Umno Youth-led Barisan Bertindak Rakyat Malaysia (BBRM), or Malaysia's People's Action Front, stormed in and disrupted the meeting.

They broke down the conference hall doors, flung chairs and verbally and physically abused the participants.

Police then moved in to arrest the participants, who were detained for between one and six days, while 40 foreign participants were deported.

A total of 36 activists and journalists originally filed the law suit. However, four withdrew, one passed away and two did not appear to provide testimony during the trial.

Among the high-profile plaintiffs are:

1) Former PRM secretary-general Sanusi Othman

2) PKR deputy president and senator Syed Husin Ali

3) Batu parliamentarian Tian Chua

4) Malaysiakini chief executive officer Premesh Chandran

5) Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan

6) Malaysian Trade Union Congress president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamad.

Others include Subang MP R Sivarasa, Parti Sosialis Malaysia president Dr Nasir Hashim and former New Era College principal Kua Kia Soong.

The defendants are former Kuala Lumpur police chief Ismail Che' Ros, former Dang Wangi OCPD Zainal Abidin Ali, investigations officer chief inspector Tengku Hamzah Tengku Abdullah and the Malaysian government.

The plantiffs were represented by lawyers Ranjit Singh, Rashid ismail and Jamie Wong, while senior federal counsel Iznan represented the four defendants.

'Attack ordered by the government'

Then United Nations special representative to East Timor Jose

Ramos-Horta - now the Timorese president - was among the guests

invited to the conference but was denied entry to Malaysia, the court heard during trial.

One of the mob leaders, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, then an Umno youth secretary, had testified in court that the attack was ordered by the government. He is now an opposition MP.

The activists, some of whom are now opposition lawmakers, were

jubilant over their court victory.

"We have been vindicated. The court recognised our action was

justified and the police had unlawfully detained us," said PKR MP Tian Chua, who was an organiser of the conference and was

detained for six nights.

"This is also a recognition for those who have participated in the

East Timor struggle that had been a long journey and gained important achievement later," he added.

Plaintiffs reveal mixed feelings over victory

SPECIAL REPORT: Apcet II trial