Saifool - I did not wash my anus coz to preserve the evidence.....

Key witness Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan today made a startling revelation at the Sodomy II trial when he told the court that he did not wash his anus for two days after the alleged incident. When asked by lead defence counsel Karpal Singh, Saiful, 25, said he only rinsed his body after the June 26, 2008 incident when he was allegedly sodomised by his boss, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, 63.

“I did not wash (my anus) in order to preserve the evidence," he said as the court erupted in laughter.

During his earlier examination-in-chief in February by solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, the star witness had testified that he did not defecate for two days. The cross-examination of Saiful by the defence today entered its fourth day with Karpal throwing the star witness a battery of questions:

Karpal: Did you take a shower on June 26, 2008 (the day of the alleged sodomy)?
Saiful: I only took a morning shower.

Karpal: Did you take a shower and clean your anus after the incident?
Saiful: I only 'bilas' (rinsed)

Karpal: Why you didn't wash?
Saiful: I want to preserve the evidence.

Karpal: You had the opportunity to lodge a (police) report. Why didn't you?
Saiful: No.

Karpal: On the (June) 27, why didn't you lodge a report?
Saiful: I'm afraid that this would affect my future.

Karpal: And on the (June) 28?
Saiful: After seeking advice from my uncle (Tuah Mohamad), friend Rahimi Osman, Mumtaz (Jaafar), Ezam, and an ustaz, I decided to lodge a police report.

Had been sodomised before

At the start of the proceedings, Saiful was shown a Malaysiakini report dated Aug 15, 2008, titled 'Saya diliwat tanpa rela', where he was quoted to have said that Anwar had sodomised him once. Clarifying that he was confused by the question, the 25-year-old university dropout said he had been sodomised on other occasions by Anwar.

Earlier, solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof protested against the portal's report being used, however, High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah overruled his objections. The report was based on Saiful's press conference after he had sworn on the Quran at the Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan that he was sodomised by Anwar.

The transcript reads:

Journalist: Is this your first time to be sodomised?
Saiful: Yes, that was the first time.

The witness maintained that he had been sodomised before this and that this happened prior to June 26, 2008. He said he told then ACP Rodwan Mohd Yusof that he had been sodomised by the PKR de facto leader in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore.

Karpal: Did you orchestrate this with the help of the police and the then the deputy prime minister?
Saiful: No.

Karpal: Then why did you meet the top police officer at that time rather than report the whole thing to the police?
Saiful: I wanted to tell him my problem. I had been sodomised by Anwar several times including Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

Saiful's integrity under question

Karpal cast doubts over the witness' integrity after questioning his meeting with Najib on June 24, 2008 - two days before the alleged sodomy. To the senior lawyer's suggestion that he had lied about his meeting with Najib that day where he related his problem of being sodomised to the then DPM, Saiful disagreed. He told the court that he came from a broken family where his parents had divorced, and that he had two siblings of whom he is the eldest.

Anwar's lead counsel also queried Saiful's political affiliations, but Yusof objected as the question was not relevant to the trial. Karpal argued that on contrary the question was relevant as there was no doubt that the whole affair and the trumped-up charge were part of a political conspiracy as in 1998. Justice Zabidin overruled the objection and Karpal proceeded to question the witness.

Karpal: Prior to March 2008, were you a strong supporter of the BN and Umno?
Saiful: Yes, I was a supporter of the BN and Umno but I voted for Sivarasa (Rasiah) (Subang parliamentarian) and Elizabeth Wong (Bukit Lanjan state representative).

Karpal: Good move. You were a strong supporter of Umno and the BN and yet you betrayed them. You are a pengkhianat (traitor)?
Saiful: I do not agree as voting is free.

Karpal: You do not betray your friends. I suggest that your credibility is at stake. You are a liar and traitor?
Saiful: Who, me? I disagree. (He smirks).

Proceedings in camera

The witness also told the court that he had gone to Desa Damansara condominiumon June 26, 2008 - the day of the alleged incident where he said the two units owned by one Hasanuddin were located. He also said that while leaving the PKR office, he spotted someone following him but managed to give the person the slip. Saiful told the court both units were quite close to each other and when he arrived, Anwar was there.

Karpal then applied for the proceedings to be held in camera as the defence was approaching the point where questioning the complainant on what had happened would begin. Justice Zabidin agreed and fixed the proceedings to continue in camera at 2.15pm.

"Normally, the victim would make the application. But all right, I will allow this," he said.

Hearing was later adjourned to May 31 till June 4.

Prosecution star witness Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan “looked happy” a day after being allegedly sodomised by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the Kuala Lumpur High Court was told today. During the cross examination of Saiful, lead defence counsel Karpal Singh produced a photograph(above) taken on June 27, 2008, a day after Anwar was alleged to have sodomised his former aide.

Saiful told the court that the photograph depicted him at Anwar's house at about 5pm, during the opposition leader's meeting with several bloggers. The photograph depicted a cheerful Saiful serving tea to Anwar and his guests.

“Is that you in the photo?” asked Karpal, to which Saiful affirmed.

“You looked quite happy,” quipped Karpal, followed by objections from lead prosecutor Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden before Saiful could respond.

Though Saiful did not have to reply Karpal's statement, the latter appeared to be attempting challenge Saiful's credibility as a witness and complainant.

“It shows that even one day after the alleged incident, they are still communicating and working as usual. But earlier, Saiful had said that he was frightened and upset after the incident,” said defence counsel Sankara Nair when met outside the courtroom.

source:malaysiakini

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