Sodomy Trial: Anwar to know his fate on Monday
(Bernama) — Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will know his fate on Monday in the trial in which he is accused of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan three years ago.
High Court Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah is expected to deliver his decision at the end of the prosecution’s case at about 9am on whether Anwar is to enter his defence or be acquitted.
This is the second sodomy charge Anwar has faced. In 2000, he was charged with sodomising his wife’s driver, Azizan Abu Bakar.
He was convicted and sentenced to nine years jail by the High Court, but four years later the Federal Court overturned the conviction and set aside the jail sentence.
Anwar’s lead counsel Karpal Singh, when contacted by Bernama, said he was prepared for all possibilities and was already laying some groundwork in the event that Anwar was ordered to enter his defence.
Anwar, 63, pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court on Aug 7, 2008 of committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature at Kondominium Desa Damansara in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
The charge comes under section 377B of the Penal Code which carries a sentence of up to 20 years jail and whipping.
Although the defence team succeeded initially in getting the case to be heard at the lower court, the High Court on March 3, 2009 granted the prosecution’s appeal to transfer it to the High Court.
It took almost a year for the sodomy trial to start, with the defence attempting to have the charge against Anwar quashed.
After failing at the Apex Court on the initial application, the defence returned with other applications under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code for medical reports on Anwar carried out by doctors at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
The trial, which started on Feb 3 last year, saw Mohd Saiful, 25, taking the stand to tell the court about the alleged incident.
Details of the alleged act were heard in camera although he testified in open court on the circumstances that led him to lodge a police report against Anwar.
He told the court that he did not pass motion for two days after the alleged sodomy.
Mohd Saiful also testified that the black slacks worn by him on the day he was allegedly sodomised had been a gift from Anwar.
The prosecution called 27 witnesses, including three specialists from the KL Hospital who examined Mohd Saiful on June 28, 2008, two days after the alleged incident.
The prosecution relied heavily on the findings of two chemists, Dr Seah Lay Hong and Nor Aidora Saedon, who established that the DNA profile of “male Y” found in the anus of Mohd Saiful was Anwar’s.
