Faulty 1st gen AAA Eneloop?

Hi guys!

Recently I received couple of cheap red laser pointers from Ebay that are powered by 2xAAA batteries.

When I insterted my Eneloops in one of them, the laser heated up considerably and so did the batteries as well, I immediatelly removed them from laser, regular AAA's work just fine in that laser. I blamed the laser and got a refund from ebay seller.

Next came in other cheap sub 2$ laser pointer which doesnt have such problems.

However, today during re-test with OK working laser I noticed alarming thing:

TOP:

BOTTOM:

As you can see by the pictures, the plastic wrapper around the Eneloops is slightly pushed up on the battery thats on the right side in the picture, you can see it clearly in both pictures.

So, I tried to gently push it back to no result so far, Im affraid to apply more force because I dont want to dent the Eneloop and ruin it like that.

Could it be that due to the over-exposed "- minus" on this battery could make it malfunction, overheat or break equipment being used in?
How could I get the plastic shell back down to fit battery normally?

Soap, grease, lubricant?

Im also considering to buy heaps of Turnigy AA+AAA batteries from HobbyKing given then excellent performance and price, whatcha say, perhaps this Eneloop is not worth to salvage?

Thanks!

From what i can see in ur pics, these aren't 2nd gen ens's. 2nd gen have a litte crown on the bat, Go the sanyo ene site and check

These are not 2nd generation Eneloops judging by the your photos. I have the 1st and the 2nd generation Eneloops bought from a major reputable dealer. These look exactly like the 1st generation.

Are they HR-4UTG or HR-4UTGA ?

Oops, my bad, should have checked, I bought them together with Eneloop fast charger a year ago and also bought 2nd gen AA Eneloops, so was pretty sure that they all are the same revision :)
Title edited.

So, what about the original question, any experiences, coments regarding batteries with similar issues? Be it Eneloops or any other brand?

Yes it looks like the battery would short out in the laser pointer. Ive had the same thing happen before.

Can it short out in flashlight, for example EDC running from single AAA if one is made of SS/AL?