No medical evidence Saiful Bukhari was sodomised

By Zedeck Siew
thenutgraph.com

(Pic by Sanja Gjenero / sxc.hu)

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 June 2009: A medical report by Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) has found no evidence of anal penetration of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, raising real doubts about the credibility of his sodomy charge against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The findings of the report, disclosed by Anwar's lawyers at a press conference in Parliament today, was attached to an affidavit filed by Anwar at the High Court yesterday to strike out the charge. The Opposition Leader, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)'s adviser, also wants a court order to stay his sodomy trial, which has been set for 1 July.

Part of the report, made available to the media, held that: "No conclusive clinical findings suggestive of penetration to the anus and no significant defensive wound on the body of the patient (Saiful Bukhari)".

"In any sexual offence case, the first thing to prove is penetration," said Anwar's lawyer, Amer Hamzah Arshad.

"From the evidence before us, there was no penetration," Amer added.

The HKL report, dated 13 July 2008, was endorsed by three medical specialists, and corroborates the earlier findings of Hospital Pusrawi medical officer Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid.

Citing the "clear medical evidence", PKR vice-president R Sivarasa said there was reason to believe that the charge against Anwar was mala fide, or made in bad faith.


Sivarasa "Why is this being brought to court?" Sivarasa said.

"This case, considering its circumstances, is a result of a political conspiracy, and clear evidence of abuse of the judicial process," he said, adding that it was designed to destroy Anwar's political career.

Saiful Bukhari, who worked as Anwar's aide in PKR, lodged a police report accusing the opposition leader of sodomising him on 28 June 2008.

On 7 Aug 2008, Anwar was charged with sodomy under Section 377B of the Penal Code for committing "unnatural sex" with another, instead of Section 377C. Section 377C is used when someone commits "unnatural sex" on another against the other's will or without his or her consent.

Subsequently, on 15 Aug 2008, Saiful Bukhari swore on the Quran in the Federal Territory Mosque in Kuala Lumpur that Anwar had forcefully sodomised him.

His swearing on the Quran, which was widely publicised in the media, was just before the 26 Aug 2008 Permatang Pauh by-election which Anwar was contesting. Anwar won the seat which led to his return to Parliament since his sacking from government in 1998.