Court faces historic contradiction - Malaysiakini

For the first time, a Malaysian court is faced with a contradiction between the charge against an accused and the main witness' testimony.

It has occured in the sodomy trial of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who has been charged under Section 377b of the Penal Code with having consensual carnal intercourse with former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

According to Saiful's police report against Anwar, which the former made at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on June 28, 2008, the alleged sodomy incident of June 26 was non-consensual and, hence, should have been under section 377c of the same code.

This discrepancy between the charge faced by Anwar and what Saiful had stated in his testimony was brought to the fore today by defence lawyer Karpal Singh.

Karpal, in applying for access to Saiful's statements to the police as recorded by case investigating officer DSP Jude Aloysius Pereira, has also moved to impeach the star witness and alleged victim.

The defence has yet to receive Saiful's statement, a complaint which it has repeatedly raised previously.

"Clearly, there is a serious discrepancy with the charge with what the witness had maintained with the questions posed earlier," he said.

Therefore, said Karpal, the defence is applying for Saiful's (below) statements that he made under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code, to see why there is such a discrepancy.

A person found guilty under Section 377b (consensual sodomy) stands to face a maximum jail sentence of 20 years jail and is liable to whipping.

Under section 377c for non-consensual sodomy, a person stands to face a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years and is liable to whipping.

Realising the discrepancy, Kuala Lumpur High Court Justice Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah said he will make a decision known tomorrow whether to allow the defence application to scrutinise Saiful's statement to the police.

"I realise the discrepancy between the charge and what the witness had said," he said.