Anwar found guilty of sodomy, gets 5 years jail

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was today sentenced to five years of jail after being found guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008.

According to a report in the Star Online, the court granted him a stay of execution of the sentence with a bail of RM10,000 in one surety and the court allowed Anwar to post bail by 11am on Monday.

Earlier, the court heard that the DNA profile of a third party was found in Mohd Saiful’s anus despite his claim of not being a homosexual.

The ruling was made by a three-man Court of Appeal panel was chaired by Justice Balia Yusof Wahi with Justices Aziah Ali and Mohd Zawawi Salleh.

The Malay Mail online reported that the trio unanimously decided that the High Court failed to “critically evaluate” the evidence submitted by government chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong.

On January 9, 2012, Anwar was acquitted of allegedly sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at the Desa Damansara condominium on June 26, 2008.

High Court Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah had acquitted Anwar on grounds that he could not rule out possible tampering of the DNA samples in the case.

The opposition leader was charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction.