‘I was treated like Botak Chin’

FULL REPORT

KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim today testified in the trial-within-a-trial of his sodomy hearing and related how he was treated like the notorious criminal Botak Chin, who was hanged in 1981, following his arrest.

The defence also established that at no point during the incident were the grounds of arrest given.

Addressing a packed courtroom, Anwar, who was dressed in a suit, recalled how he was arrested on July 16, 2008 and the humiliation he endured when asked to strip at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

Questioned by his lead counsel Karpal Singh, the opposition leader said he was en route to Segambut for the Zohor afternoon prayers after a meeting with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials in Putrajaya.

It was during this point that his car was intercepted by several patrol cars and unmarked cars.

He then drew laughter when he said that some 10 to 15 policemen with sub-machine guns and donning “barracudas” confronted him.

Karpal then corrected the PKR supremo, saying that the policemen were wearing “balaclavas”.

When the policemen had told him that they were ordered to arrest him, Anwar replied that there was no need to do so since he had agreed to be present at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters at 2pm that day.

At the police headquarters, he was joined by his lawyers, R Sivarasa and Sankara Nair.

Forced to sleep on cement floor

At 8pm, Anwar was taken to the hospital as the authorities wanted to extract a DNA sample from him but was advised by his counsel not to comply due to previous experiences involving theft of samples.

There he was examined by consultant physician Jayaindran Sinadorai and consultant surgeon Ee Boon Leong.

“I was asked to remove my underwear so that they could measure my private parts and length of pubic hair. It was degrading,” he said, adding that the medical personnel also wanted to swab his anus with cotton buds.

At 11pm, he was taken back to the police headquarters, where the investigating officer DSP Jude Pereira said, “We’re sorry, we have to take you into lock-up.”

Anwar told the court how he was forced to sleep on the cement floor despite having a back condition, leading him to seek medical treatment the next day.

He also described the lock-up’s condition as being “deplorable and atrocious”.

When cross-examined by Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, Anwar said: “No normal person is treated this way… not told the offence and dragged like an al-Qaeda agent.”

“I was treated like Botak Chin,” he said, but denied that he was physically abused by the police when quizzed by the prosecution.

Anwar also told the court that when he was in the lock-up, he was given two towels, a tooth brush, tooth paste and soap.

He, however, could not recollect what was written on the towels.

Yesterday, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge, Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, allowed the defence’s application for a trial-within-a-trial.

This was to enable the court to decide on the admissibility of three items recovered from Anwar’s cell when he was detained overnight between July 16 and 17, 2008.

The items were a mineral water bottle, “Good Morning” towel and a white toothbrush.

Meanwhile, Sankara, who took the stand later, also said that to the best of his knowledge, Anwar was not given the grounds of arrest.

“Not in my presence and not at any time I know of,” he said when asked by Karpal.

The trial-within-a-trial will continue tomorrow with Sivarasa’s testimony and two prosecution witnesses.

This is the second time Anwar had been charged with sodomy, the first being in 1998 alongside a corruption charge.

Anwar had been accused of sodomising his former personal aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azan, at a condominium in Bukit Damansara here on June 26, 2008.

If convicted, Anwar could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years jail and whipping.

Like the previous charge, the opposition leader had claimed that it was fabricated by his political rivals.