Defence lawyer: US experts 99.99% sure it's Anwar
An analysis by American video experts has established a 99.99 percent match between Anwar Ibrahim and the man in the video screened by the 'Datuk T' group to journalists on March 21.
The man in the sex tape is “99.99 percent” opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, claimed the lawyer for former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik.
Counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah ( right ) said that US video experts consulted by the Malaysian police had compared images of the man in the video with a photo of Anwar and confirmed that both were identical.
“This means that A and B is the same person,” he told the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Court during plea bargaining.
He further said that according to the June 4 report by professors Hany Farid and Lorenzo Torresani from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, there is a 99.99 percent match of the male in the video clip to a known photo of Anwar based on facial recognition analysis.
A copy of the report was shown to journalists by Shafee but he refused to allow the document to be reproduced.
Although Shafee claims that the experts had reported that they were 99.99 percent sure, this information was not sighted by Malaysiakini on the document.
The percentage was also not stated in the statement of facts, which was read out in open court. A copy of the statement of facts obtained by Malaysiakini shows that the figure has been blanked out.
Nevertheless, the court heard that the Dartmouth duo confirmed that the video was genuine without any form of tampering and super-imposing, and that it was recorded on a DVR recorder seized from businessman Shazryl Eskay Abdullah.
Shazryl, together with former Perkasa treasurer-general Shuib Lazim were jointly charged with possession and distribution of pornography under Section 292(a) of the Penal Code.
They had allegedly committed the offence between 10.30am and 12pm at the Carcosa Seri Negara hotel on March 21.
Rahim, however, was charged with abetment under section 109 of the Penal Code. All three pleaded guilty to the charges.
Video taken in KL apartment
In the statement of facts, it was also stated that the sex tape was taken in an apartment in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
This was uncovered when Shuib gave his statement to the police on March 25.
“The police took a CCTV recording from the apartment and also found that Anwar was with Shazryl at the lobby of the apartment on Feb 21,” said the statement of facts.
It was previously reported that Shazryl had told reporters that the video was taken in a spa in Kuala Lumpur instead.
The court also heard how Shazryl met Shuib and Rahim to expose the sex tape.
Shazryl had met Shuib at the end of February with the recording in his pendrive, with a video said to be of Anwar engaging in various sexual acts with a Chinese national.
They then decided to meet Rahim, considering that the recording was “sensitive” and posed a “national interest”, before all three agreed to screen the video to journalists.
Rahim then called one Kamarulail Sulaiman to book a room at Carcosa Seri Negara, an exclusive hotel in the hilly outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, while Shazryl contacted a senior reporter from The Star to round up the other reporters at the hotel for a story of “high national interest”.
“(The person) then invited other reporters, who then turned up to spread the word to other reporters,” said the statement of facts.
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