Justice Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah adjourns the trial to tomorrow, when he will rule on whether to allow the defence's application to scrutinise Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's statement to the police.
9.51am: Justice Mohd Zabidin adjourns the trial to tomorrow, when he will rule on whether to allow the defence's application to scrutinise Saiful's statement to the police.
9.40am:
Karpal (
right
) says his hunch is based on what the witness had said with regards to the sodomy having been non-consensual.
“Anwar is charged with 377b (relating to an act of) consensual (sodomy), but Saiful says it was non-consensual.”
Investigations, therefore, should have been under section 377c.
This is more than a hunch, says Karpal, and this is proven by the contradiction in Saiful's testimony.
High Court Justice Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah says this is the first time that a matter of this nature has come up - the accused is being charged with consensual (sodomy) though the evidence suggests the act was non-consensual.
9.25am: If it is non-consensual anal intercourse, it should be section 377c of the Penal Code, not 377b under which Anwar is charged, says Karpal.
Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden submits that there must be something there (to the charge). There was no consent, he adds, but the defendant has been charged with a charge less than that.
"If there is a hunch, Your Honour can look at the witness statement first to look (at) whether there was (a) foundation to such claims," says Mohd Yusof.
It is the prosecution's prerogative to charge Anwar (under) consensual (sodomy, which) is a lesser offence and (entails lesser) punishment, rather than non-consensual (sodomy), Mohd Yusof argues.
9:24am:
Karpal argues that since Saiful (
left
) had stated the intercourse to be non-consensual, whereas Anwar is charged under Section 377b for consensual sex against the order of nature, there is a conflict between the charge and Saiful's statement.
"There is certainly something wrong with the framing of the charge, and this warrants our application to look at the statement that was recorded.
"In Malaysia, we know that sex between males done with consent is also an offence. However, the witness had repeatedly said and maintained that the sex was non-consensual," says Karpal.
Karpal moves to impeach Saiful on grounds of a ‘hunch’ that the witness had lied.
9.12am:
Saiful says investigating officer DSP Jude Pereira was the only one who took his statement. He cannot remember how many statements were given, but there were many.
"Each time, the statement was recorded at Brickfields police station and other places as well.
"The first statement was recorded on June 29, 2008,” says Saiful, emphasising that he had said in the statement that he had been sodomised without kerelaan (his consent).
Asked by Karpal whether he had made the statement outside the court, the witness said he cannot remember.
Karpal asks Saiful if he had always stated that the sodomy was against his will and Saiful said he had.
When asked whether if this had always been the case, Saiful said he was not sure.
Karpal is now submitting to obtain the statement that Saiful had given to DSP Pereira.
9.10am:
Instead of giving his submission on key witness Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s statement, as he said yesterday he would do today, Karpal has applied to continue cross-examining the alleged sodomy victim. Saiful takes the stand.
9.00am: Anwar arrives at Duta Court with his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim. Also present are PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Tantawi.
Police seem to be quite strict today, guarding the lobby area of the Duta Complex in Kuala Lumpur. Photographers are not allowed to enter the complex, and only can take photos outside the building.
