Brother-in-law claims Saiful lied under oath

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: Faez Khairi, the brother-in-law of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, today claimed that Saiful had lied to the High Court on Monday when he alleged that his sister's marriage was illegal.
Saiful, who has accused Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him, told counsel Karpal Singh while testifying under oath that his sister Saidati Adha Azlan was 'taken' to Thailand and that he was unsure of her marital status.
Twenty-seven-old Faez today produced a photocopy of his Thai marriage certificate and claimed that his marriage to 21-year-old Saidati is legal. Faez held a press conference at his lawyer's office to clarify the matter.
He said they married in Thailand on March 2, 2009 and he was in the process of registering his marriage in Malaysia when his father-in-law, Azlan Mohd Lazim, threw away the marriage certificate.
Azlan, he said, also got rid of his professional certification, resulting in his current unemployed status.
When asked how the certificates fell into Azlan's hands, Faez explained that he had kept most of his personal belongings in Saidati's house in Kuala Lumpur while he lived in Ipoh.
According to him, they lived apart because Saidaiti is still studying in Universiti Teknologi MARA.
“Ive never met my father-in-law before but he was dead-set against our marriage. This is why Saidati wanted to get married in Thailand. But I did not marry her against her will,” said Faez.
“Saiful met us on two occasions after our marriage and he knew we were legally married. But I haven't been in touch with him since last year. So I was shocked when I learned what he had said in court.”
Faez also alleged that three of Saidati's uncles had approached him on May 4, 2009 to force him into divorcing Saidati but he refused. “My marriage is still legal,” he insisted.
“Saiful's allegation implies that I'm co-habitating with a woman which is against Islamic teachings. This has sullied my name and caused me great embarrassment.”
His lawyer N Surendran said that Faez had no choice but to hold a media conference in order to deny the allegation that has sullied his reputation.
“Any statement made in a court of law must be true,” he said. “And since Faez is not on the witness list in the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial, he has no other opportunity to clear his name.”
Saidati was not present at the press conference.
Mohd Saiful has accused his former boss Opposition Leader Anwar, 63, of sodomising him at Unit 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. The trial against Anwar continues tomorrow with the defence continuing to cross examine Saiful.