Sodomy II an old script with new actors

PKR vice president Sivarasa Rasiah has accused the public prosecutor of malice for insisting on charging Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy despite flimsy evidence.

“The new case replays an old script with new actors,” wrote Siva in an article ahead of Anwar’s sodomy trial due to begin on January 25.

“The current script also shows the previous episode’s features of political interference, manipulation of officers in the AG’s Chambers and police, and falsification of evidence all arising from a political conspiracy to stop Anwar’s political career.”

Former premier Mahathir Mohamad had in 1998 shocked the nation by jailing Anwar – then his fast-rising deputy – on corruption and sodomy charges that Anwar has denied, counter-accusing Mahathir of framing him to kill his political career.

“Finally, after his nemesis, former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed, went into reluctant retirement in October 2003, Anwar was acquitted and released on 2 September 2004 at the final level of his appeal against the conviction for sodomy. Now the nightmare is starting all over again,” said Siva.

The new script and a meeting with Najib

On July 16, 2008, Anwar was arrested on a new sodomy charge, after a police report was lodged against him on June 28 by a junior aide in his office, Saiful Bukhari. Again, Anwar has denied the charges, accusing the Umno-BN government of trying to scuttle his political comeback.

In his police report of June 28, 2008, made at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Saiful had claimed that he was sodomised by Anwar against his will on the afternoon of Thursday 26th June 2008 at a condominium in Bukit Damansara. His police statement also appears to allege that he had been assaulted about 8 to 9 times against his will by Anwar over the previous two months.

“This immediately raises suspicion as to why this so-called “victim” is sodomised 8 to 9 times against his will over two months and yet made no complaint to the authorities. During that time, he was in regular contact with Anwar and all the other office staff at Anwar’s office,” said Siva.

Siva, who is also the MP for Subang and part of Anwar’s legal team, also pointed out that on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, the day before the last so-called assault on Thursday, Saiful had met with a senior police officer, Senior Assistant Commissioner Rodwan Mohd Yusof ( then Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation Dept of the Royal Malaysian Police Force, now CPO Melaka ), at the Concorde Hotel in Kuala Lumpur in Room 619.

Rodwan, who has declined to comment when asked why he met Saiful, had also played a key part in Anwar’s 1998/9 cases. According to Siva, Rodwan was notorious for his role in illegally using Anwar’s blood sample for DNA testing and was also embroiled in allegations of planting fabricated DNA traces on the infamous mattress brought to court.

Apart from Rodwan, Saiful had also met Prime Minister Najib Razak (then the Deputy Prime Minister) a few days prior to the alleged sodomy.

“What is interesting about this revelation is that Najib initially denied meeting Saiful to the media, then admitted it, then said the meeting took place because Saiful (a university drop-out) was asking him for assistance to get a scholarship, and then told the media that Saiful said he was sodomised by Anwar and looked traumatised during their meeting,” Siva said.

No signs of penetration

Saiful’s behaviour after the so-called assault on that Thursday also raises questions.

According to Siva, the next morning, Saiful went to the Anwar’s office as usual. He made no complaints to anyone and appeared quite normal.Later that day, he attended an Anwar Ibrahim Club event at Anwar’s house, at which Anwar was also present. There he helped serve coffee to the dozen or so persons present, showed no signs of fear or anxiety, and was able to sit and stand without showing any signs of discomfort.

The next morning, Saiful went to the Anwar’s office as usual. He made no complaints to anyone and appeared quite normal. Later that day, he attended an Anwar Ibrahim Club event at Anwar’s house, at which Anwar was also present. There he helped serve coffee to the dozen or so persons present, showed no signs of fear or anxiety, and was able to sit and stand without showing any signs of discomfort.

But at 2 pm the following day, which was a Saturday, Saiful went to a private hospital called Pusat Rawatan Islam (Pusrawi ) in Jalan Tun Razak. There he complained to one Dr Osman that he had had pain in his anus for a few days and that a “plastic” item had been inserted.

A proctoscopy examination by Dr Osman showed no physical signs of penetration and a normal anus and rectum. After the examination, he then told Dr. Osman he had been sodomised by a VIP and was then advised to go for an examination at a government hospital.

“Despite Hospital Kuala Lumpur being virtually across the road, it took Saiful two and a half hours to get there,” said Siva.

At HKL, where he reported that he had been sodomised, he was examined by three specialist doctors, which was a very unusual procedure in itself. The three doctors, in their official report, have stated that there were no ““no conclusive clinical findings suggestive of penetration to the anus”, again reinforcing the conclusions of Dr Osman.

“Any objective investigator would have understood that a prosecution for sodomy would get nowhere in the light of such clear medical evidence. No objective prosecutor would have allowed the case to progress,” said Siva.

“Here we see the opposite – the investigation being driven fully, although the medical evidence from the outset ruled out penetration. The malice in the investigation further confirms the involvement of political motives."

Wary of faked DNA evidence

Siva also said there were no clinical findings even suggestive of penetration, any DNA report purporting to show that Anwar’s DNA was found in Saiful’s rectum would be highly suspect.

"Such a report would in fact raise suspicion about the credibility of such DNA evidence – that such evidence had been fabricated or tampered with, which is easy to do with DNA evidence, especially when the perpetrators are the investigators themselves, as in the 1998 trials," Siva stressed.

“This investigation was pursued despite the medical findings, which would have been made available immediately to police investigators. Swabs taken from Saiful suspiciously took two days to reach the chemist lab for analysis.

“We know now that the prosecution will rely on purported DNA evidence to attempt to prove that Anwar was involved in an act of sodomy with Saiful without his consent. How a 61-year-old man with a bad back can force himself on a fit and tall 24-year-old will be an interesting question for all observers of this political trial.”