It's deja vu for Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who, with his 'Sodomy II' trial that went into its third day on Friday, faced a similar charge exactly 12 years. The former deputy prime minister currently faces a sodomy accusation by a former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
As with the first trial, much of the focus would be on the perceived independence of the judiciary in conducting the trial. The case is being heard by High Court judge Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah
Below are some of the main excerpts and highlights from this past week's trial.
Day One
The first day of hearing started at 3.30pm with a bang as the prosecution took the unusual step of bringing to the stand as its first witness – the star witness – Saiful.
The first jarring remark, however, came from the gallery as one of Anwar's daughters shocked the room with her shout “Taubat, lah!” (Repent!) to Saiful as the latter took his stand.
Saiful, a former Universiti Tenaga Nasional student, related how he came to be hired as a volunteer with PKR, a week before the March 8 general election, and how he later became Anwar's aide.
The witness related how, on Jun 26, 2008, he was asked to meet Anwar at the Desa Damansara condominium in Bukit Damansara at 2.45pm to help arrange some work-related matters.
After handing some documents to Anwar, however, Mohd Saiful alleged he was startled by Anwar's allegedly indecent proposal: “Can I f*** you today?”
Before Mohd Saiful could go far in narrating further details as to what allegedly transpired on the afternoon of Jun 26, however, counsel Karpal Singh applied for the rest of the proceedings to be held in camera (in the judge's chamber)
Day Two
The next day, the proceedings began in the chamber of justice Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah.
Slightly over an hour into the closed-door hearing, however, judge, judicial officers, witness, lawyers and defendant transported themselves – with a gang of reporters and press photographers scrambling in hot pursuit – to the Desa Damansara condominium unit where the alleged incident took place.
The hearing thereafter returned to the Duta court complex in the afternoon, where Mohd Saiful related his visits to three different hospitals following the alleged incident of sodomy: Saiful said he first went to the Tawakal Hospital, before being directed to the Pusrawi Hospital where he was examined by one Dr Mohd Othman Abdul Hamid, complaining of constipation.
It was then that Saiful first said he had been sodomised.
He was then promptly advised to go to the government's Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH).
At KLH, Saiful lodged the police report wherein he alleged he had been sodomised by Anwar.
The day's proceedings also saw Karpal lodging a complaint with the judge over Malay-language Utusan Malaysia's report of the previous day's hearing.
Day Three
The third day heard Saiful testifying how he idolised the 'charismatic' Anwar.
He also provided more details about how he had been introduced to Anwar. Saiful also related to the court how the the alleged victimisation by Anwar drove him to resign.
Saiful claimed that Anwar expressed his sadness with his decision to quit, and made an offer of providing Saiful a scholarship to finance his studies.
He went on to claim that his fear of Anwar resulting in an initial acceptance of the offer.
Saiful went on to tell the court that he could not pass motion for two days after the alleged incident.
He later identifed several items of evidence that were presented in court, such as the cotton swab with the samples taken from him, as well as the clothing that he wore at the time of the incident.
This week
Saiful is expected to be cross-examined by Karpal Singh, who leads the team of Anwar's lawyers.
(Source: Mkini - Support Mkini - Subscribe to Mkini!)
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