UPDATED @ 06:53:23 PM 25-04-2011
April 25, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — Karpal Singh has demanded that Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan be charged with “lying” in court about being sodomised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.The lead defence counsel, in presenting submissions on whether Anwar should be called to enter his defence today, charged that Saiful was not a credible witness, and that the current charge against Anwar should immediately be dropped.
Karpal said there were too many inconsistencies between the charge against Anwar and the testimony given by the star witness in the Sodomy II trial.
He urged the court to direct the prosecution to charge Saiful under section 195 of the Penal Code for fabricating evidence with intent to procure conviction of an offence punishable with imprisonment.
The veteran lawyer’s main contention was that although Saiful has accused Anwar of sodomising him, his testimony proved otherwise and showed that “there was no element of hesitation” on Saiful’s part during the alleged act of intercourse on June 26, 2008.
“It is obvious SP1(Saiful) lied when he stated in his police report that ‘Perkara ini berlaku tanpa kerelaan’ (the act happened without consent).
“The court should direct the Public Prosecutor to frame a charge against SP1 (Saiful) under section 195 of the Penal Code... a message should be sent out loud and clear that the judiciary will not tolerate abuse of its process resulting in the conviction of an innocent person,” said Karpal.
The lawyer said the conduct of the accuser was inconsistent with that of a person who was sexually violated.
According to Karpal, Saiful had every opportunity to leave the condominium unit of Desa Damansara on June 26 but based on his testimony in court, he did not do so.
Karpal pointed out that Saiful’s testimony indicated he had “voluntarily” followed through with the alleged sodomy and did not show any form of restraint.
“I am not saying that the act happened... but Saiful was a young man of 23 and strong enough to have fended off the alleged overtures of the accused in the bedroom, but he did not do so.”
He said Saiful had even attended a PKR function the next day, an act unbecoming of a person who had just been sexually violated.
“These actions of SP1 militate against non-consensual sexual intercourse against the order of nature. The credibility of SP1 is further eroded,” he said.
Karpal also reminded the court of the first sodomy trial involving Anwar 10 years ago where the High Court judge had accepted complainant Azizan Abu Bakar’s case only for it to be overturned by the Federal Court.
“This court should not befall by this fallacy again. Saiful must be seen as a reliable witness if the court wants to call for defence,” he said.
Karpal also said that Anwar had been placed at a “tactical disadvantage” as he was charged under section 377B of Penal Code relating to consensual intercourse with no mandatory imprisonment, instead of Section 377C of the Penal Code pertaining to non-consensual intercourse with mandatory imprisonment for a term of not less than five years.
The defence also sought to raise doubts over the testimonies of witnesses Dr Mohd Razali Ibrahim, Dr Siew Sheue Feng and Dr Khairul Nizam Hassan.
Another defence lawyer, Sankara Nair, said Dr Razali was evasive when answering on simple aspects of bowel physiology when he had testified Saiful’s rectum was empty.
The lawyer questioned why the KY Jelly lubricant, used by Saiful in the alleged sodomy, was not analysed despite being admitted as evidence together with the other items.
The item was filed as evidence through ASP Jude Pereira.
This led Sankara to Pereira, whom the lawyer accused of evidence tampering.
Sankara described Pereira as an “untruthful witness” as the officer had violated the Inspector General’s Standing Orders in repacking the cotton swabs.
“The prosecution must not cringe and resort to desperate moves by attempting to move the goal post every time they find themselves pushed in a legal corner,” said Sankara.
The trial resumes tomorrow morning.
Anwar, the 63-year-old PKR de facto leader, is currently facing sodomy charges for the second time in his life.
He has denied the charge, describing it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power” when the charge was read out to him. He is charged under section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction.
The trial began 18 months after Anwar was charged in court in August 2008.
He was charged with sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he was sacked from the Cabinet and was later convicted and jailed for both offences.
He was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.
He led the loose pact of PKR, DAP and PAS to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.
Right-thinking Malaysians know that right from the start, the prosecution and judge have already decided that Anwar is guilty!
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