From The Canadian Press
By Julia Zappei, The Associated Press
A doctor acknowledged during Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial Monday that a detailed report he and two colleagues wrote after examining the Malaysian opposition leader’s accuser was never submitted as evidence in court.
General surgeon Mohamad Razali Ibrahim, a prosecution witness, made the revelation during cross-examination, bolstering defence claims that it has been repeatedly denied key pieces of evidence in the politically charged trial.
Following the disclosure, High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah immediately ordered the report to be produced as evidence and adjourned the trial until Tuesday.
Anwar, 63, claims the government concocted the charge of having sex with Saiful Bukhari Azlan — at that time his 23-year-old aide — to thwart his political career after big election gains in March 2008.
Anal sex, even when consensual, is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia, punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
Mohamad Razali and his two colleagues have previously testified that there was enough medical evidence to show that Saiful was sodomized. They have told the court that semen traces in swabs taken from Saiful proved that penetration took place despite a lack of physical scarring linked to anal sex.
A medical report dated July 13, 2008, and signed by the three doctors has been submitted in court to corroborate their testimony.
However, during cross-examination Monday, Mohamad Razali said he and the other two doctors had previously written a more detailed report after conducting a preliminary anal examination on Saiful on June 28, 2008, the day the accuser came to the hospital, complaining of pain in the anus.
The surgeon did not say what was written in the first report or why it never made it to the court. But the defence is apparently hoping that it will contradict the observations in the July 13 report.
“The prosecution witness has for the first time admitted that there was a prior report. … He says a lot more was written there,” defence lawyer Sankara Nair told reporters. “There are gaps. … If there is a contradiction, we need to know.”
The government has denied there is any conspiracy against Anwar, who is on trial for sodomy for the second time in his career. The first time was in 1998 after he was fired as deputy prime minister in the wake of a power struggle with then-leader Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar was subsequently convicted of corruption and sodomy. He spent six years in jail before the sodomy charge was overturned. Anwar claimed he was framed by Mahathir, which the former leader denies.
After being released, Anwar formed an opposition coalition which made unprecedented inroads during general elections in March 2008.
By Julia Zappei, The Associated Press
A doctor acknowledged during Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial Monday that a detailed report he and two colleagues wrote after examining the Malaysian opposition leader’s accuser was never submitted as evidence in court.
General surgeon Mohamad Razali Ibrahim, a prosecution witness, made the revelation during cross-examination, bolstering defence claims that it has been repeatedly denied key pieces of evidence in the politically charged trial.
Following the disclosure, High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah immediately ordered the report to be produced as evidence and adjourned the trial until Tuesday.
Anwar, 63, claims the government concocted the charge of having sex with Saiful Bukhari Azlan — at that time his 23-year-old aide — to thwart his political career after big election gains in March 2008.
Anal sex, even when consensual, is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia, punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
Mohamad Razali and his two colleagues have previously testified that there was enough medical evidence to show that Saiful was sodomized. They have told the court that semen traces in swabs taken from Saiful proved that penetration took place despite a lack of physical scarring linked to anal sex.
A medical report dated July 13, 2008, and signed by the three doctors has been submitted in court to corroborate their testimony.
However, during cross-examination Monday, Mohamad Razali said he and the other two doctors had previously written a more detailed report after conducting a preliminary anal examination on Saiful on June 28, 2008, the day the accuser came to the hospital, complaining of pain in the anus.
The surgeon did not say what was written in the first report or why it never made it to the court. But the defence is apparently hoping that it will contradict the observations in the July 13 report.
“The prosecution witness has for the first time admitted that there was a prior report. … He says a lot more was written there,” defence lawyer Sankara Nair told reporters. “There are gaps. … If there is a contradiction, we need to know.”
The government has denied there is any conspiracy against Anwar, who is on trial for sodomy for the second time in his career. The first time was in 1998 after he was fired as deputy prime minister in the wake of a power struggle with then-leader Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar was subsequently convicted of corruption and sodomy. He spent six years in jail before the sodomy charge was overturned. Anwar claimed he was framed by Mahathir, which the former leader denies.
After being released, Anwar formed an opposition coalition which made unprecedented inroads during general elections in March 2008.
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