Sodomy II: Defence calls for items obtained in cell to be dismissed

On Tuesday, lead prosecutor Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had wrapped up his submissions on the case.

He touched on many aspects of the case, details on the DNA and evidence presented and also on the issue of Anwar’s arrest.

The hearing of Anwar’s appeal was originally fixed for two days but now has entered its seventh day when both the defence and prosecution were given extra time for their submissions.

After the defence wraps up their submissions which is expected in the afternoon, the next question is how long will the five-member panel need to make a decision.

4.05pm: Gobind ends his submissions and was the defence continues with Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram.

3.45pm: Gobind urged the court to dismiss the evidence taken from the lock-up, adding the prosecution could not prove that the DNA of Male-Y belongs to Anwar, especially with the presence of the DNA from a third party.

3.25pm: Gobind dismissed the submission that the association needs to be accepted because Anwar was the only person in the lock-up at the time. He also raised doubt by sayig that there were certain parties with direct access to the detention cell.

3.20pm: Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo continues with the defence team’s submissions and touched on the association of Male-Y with Anwar.

3.05pm: Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan arrived at the public gallery and sat next to Wan Azizah while Sangeet was submitting on the manner Anwar was arrested, which according to her did not comply with the law.

2.55pm: Sangeet said the act of taking items from the detention cell and used as evidence without the knowledge of Anwar was also wrong, and as such all those items need to be dismissed from the proceedings.

2.45pm: Sangeet said, there were two police officers manning Anwar’s detention cell but they were not called in as witnesses.

2.40pm: Sangeet cast doubt over the use as evidence the toothbrush, towel and mineral water bottle which were taken from the detention cell.

2.30pm: The proceeding resumes with lawyer Sangeet Deo Kaur submitting.

Sangeet told the court that the prosecution had not proved the DNA which was found on Saiful belonged to Anwar and instead only said it belonged to one Male-Y.

She added, even if the DNA had belonged to Anwar, there were various factors that needed to be taken into consideration. 1.10am: The proceeding takes a short break and will resume after lunch.

1.00pm: Ramkarpal submitted that the samples obtained from Saiful had showed signs of degradation but this was not so with other samples.

Ramkarpal reiterated that due to various doubts, charges on Anwar should be dropped.

12.50am: Ramkarpal submitted there was a reason to doubt Supt. Jude Pereira because the police officer had previously been found to be ‘lying’ in another court proceeding.

Apart from that, Ramkarpal said investigations on Anwar had been carried out satisfactorily.

Ramkarpal again stressed that the sexual act could not have happened as Anwar had previously been found to suffer from back problems.

12.40pm: Ramkarpal touched on the background of the chemist involved in the case and defended the credibility of foreign chemist Dr Brian Lealie McDonald.

He said, Dr Brian had never disputed the testing methods conducted by Dr Seah and Dr Nor Aidora but he did not agree with the results of the DNA tests. 12.20pm: Ramkarpal stressed that the act of sodomy did not take place on Mohd Saiful. He also questioned the allegations of penetration. He said there was no clear statement from the examining doctor of any physical evidence regarding an ‘object’ entering Saiful.

12.00 noon: Ramkarpal submitted on the uncertainty that penetration had indeed taken place following the lack of physical injuries on Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The lawyer also touched on the possibility the that semen samples had been contaminated therefore weakening its credibility as evidence in court.

Apart from that, Ramkarpal also raised the issue of degradation as the samples were taken from Saiful after 56 hours.

11.55am: The five-member panel of judges enter the courtroom and the court proceedings resume.

Ramkarpal continues with his submission and stresses that it will be a burden for the prosecution to prove that Anwar is guilty.

11.50am: Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang is seen entering the courtroom and sitting in the public gallery.

11.45am: The court proceedings have not yet resumed. Anwar takes this opportunity to spend time with his family members and discuss matters with his lawyers.

11.15am: The proceeding takes a short break and will resume at 11.30am. 11:00am: Ramkarpal stressed, the degradation factor plays an important role in determining whether an evidence is qualified to be submitted or not.

10.45am: The degradation and pristine sample issue especially that of the sperm evidence was submitted again by Ramkarpal. According to him, the testimony from chemist Dr Seah, the people who processed DNA evidence from Saiful, can be disputed.

10.30am: Ramkarpal denied allegations by the prosecution who said that traces of DNA from a mystery man other than Male-Y could be from Former Pusrawi doctor, Dr Mohd Osman Abdul Hamid, who had examined Saiful.

10.20am: Ramkarpal quoted chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong's testimony, who said the testing of evidence sample process can be doubted. Among the topics that were debated were the sperm evidence and the three items taken from the detention cell.

10.00am: Ramkarpal and Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria exchanged questions and answers on the technical and scientific details of the case which were given focus by the defence.

9.58am: Anwar Ibrahim supporters reciting the Yasin at the Palace of Justice compound. 9.45am: The judge indicated for the proceeding to begin. Defence lawyer Ramkarpal began his submission on the contaminated evidence and the process of the testing the sample which produced doubtful results.

9.32am: Before the proceedings began, Muhammad Shafee told the court that there were several news portals providing unfair reporting on the case.

The news portal allegedly said, Anwar had given a statement which attacked the court’s credibility, mocked the prosecution and doubted the five-member panel of judges’ ability to make a judgement.

Muhammad Shafee had also asked the court to seek an explanation from Anwar but the requested was brushed aside by Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram who described the matter as an attempt to divert attention from the proceedings.

9.30am: The five-member panel judge enters the courtroom and the proceedings begin.

9.17am: Some 50 Anwar supporters were seen gathering at the Palace of Justice today. 8.50am: Anwar enters the courtroom accompanied by his wife, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and several close friends. He also offers a cheerful greeting to the reporters in the courtroom before holding a discussion with Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram.

Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria is leading a five-member panel comprising Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif and Federal Court judges Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong, Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar and Datuk Ramly Ali.

Anwar is represented by a team of 14 lawyers led by Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, who is a former Federal Court judge himself.

The other 13 lawyers are Ramkarpal Singh Deo, Sangeet Kaur Deo, N. Surendran, R. Sivarasa, J. Leela, Latheefa Koya, Lim Choon Khim, Eric Paulsen, Michelle Yesudas, Shahid Adli Kamaruddin, Zaleha Al-Hayat, Jeremy Vinesh Anthony and Mohamed Aliff Bolkin.

A senior lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, is leading the prosecution team in the appeal. He is assisted by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria.

Anwar, 67, was charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code after the Court of Appeal on March 7 this year, found him guilty of having sodomised his now 27-year-old former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The offence was allegedly committed at Unit 11-5-1, Kondominium Desa Damansara, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

The charge carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.