The Irene Fernandez 'false news' hearing continued today with further testimony on torture allegedly suffered by a defence witness - a former inmate at a detention camp - who claimed he was "forced to masturbate with toothpaste all over his penis".
Bangladesh national Mohd Shahabuddin was testifying about physical and mental abuses he endured while detained at the Tanah Merah detention centre in Kelantan in 1995.
Recounting details of the incident, the witness said a policeman told him to enter a toilet and then to expose his genitals.
"I opened my sarung and I showed him my penis. Police took out (a tube of) toothpaste from his pocket and pressed the toothpaste on to my palm and asked me to 'rub (it) on your penis'," he said.
When asked by defence lawyer Peru Valen to state how he felt after the act, he said: "I felt that it is a Muslim country. Being naked, given toothpaste and asked to masturbate and to do this act, I felt very bad."
Mohd Shahabuddin also said the policeman had used the word 'Sona' - which means gold in Bengali - a term his village people use to describe male genitals.
Elaborating, he said after masturbating for about two to three minutes, he ejaculated and felt a burning sensation.
As a result of the trauma, the witness claimed he became incapable of indulging in normal sexual activities and was forced to seek treatment in his country.
He also demonstrated how the policeman showed him how to masturbate.