Judge set May 16 to deliver his decision.....

For the second day in a row, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah hears the submission to the prosecution's case in the controversial Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial.

Solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden had yesterday attempted to join the dots to the prosecution's case in highlighting the compatibility of the DNA found from the semen in alleged complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's anus and the three items retrieve from Anwar's cell proves the opposition leader was the perpetrator.

Yusof claimed the two independent chemist reports should be accepted and Saiful's testimony was adequate and argued that the possibility of the sodomy incident happening was made stronger with the CCTV recordings at Desa Damansara condominium to show Anwar and the complainant were both there.

In his submission for the defence, lead counsel Karpal Singh had warned the court from accepting Saiful's testimony wholeheartedly and falling into the same trap that resulted in former High Court judge Ariffin Jaka finding Anwar guilty in Sodomy I, only to see it overturned by the Federal Court. He also accused Saiful a liar in saying that the sexual act was non-consensual but his actions showed as if it was consensual.

Karpal argued that there were many opportunities for Saiful to run but he did not do so and that the university dropout had also allegedly willing to sit down for 20 minutes to have curry puffs and coffee after the alleged act.

Meanwhile, defence lawyer Ram Karpal also showed the inconsistency in the chemist findings especially Dr Seah Lay Hong and pointed out that her testimony should not be accepted.

Another defence lawyer Sankara Nair raised the possibility of contamination and degradation of the samples as they were only handed to the chemist after 97 hours. He also pointed out the possibility of tampering the investigation officer DSP Jude Blacious Pereira had opened the package and repackage it and kept the samples in his drawer instead not following the recommendation that it be kept in the freezer.

After hearing the submissions from both sides, judge Mohamad Zabidin set May 16 to deliver his decision on whether to proceed with the trial or throw it out of court.
920am: Court is called into session with justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah presiding.

9.21am: Yusof submits that Pusrawi Hospital's Dr Muhammad Osman Abdul Hamid's evidence could not be proven as the doctor did not conduct forensic examination on Saiful. "In fact, Dr Osman has asked Saiful to go to the government hospital. The document (Dr Osman's) medical report is not accepted as evidence," he said.

9.28am: Yusof argues that part of what Dr Osman is saying is not true (the complaint of plastic having been introduced into Saiful's anus). Karpal had wanted Dr Osman be called as a witness as he claimed in his submission yesterday that his absence had left a very serious gap in the prosecution's case.

9.30am: Yusof says the evidence that can be taken are only relevant facts. Saiful did complain to Dr Osman, but the fact was he (Saiful) had not lodged a police report there and then, he says.

9.35am: In reply to Ram Karpal's assertion that the chemists are biased, Yusof says the court should look at the whole evidence during the examination-in-chief, cross-examination and re-examination. "All of the doubt raised in the cross-examination has been dealt with during re-examination. The court should look at the evidence in its entirety."

9.41am: The prosecutor says it was proven that semen was found and it belonged to Anwar.

9.43am: Yusof said there is nothing in the evidence of the complainant that is improbable, incredible or doubtful for the court not to feel safe to call the accused to the defence. "A prima facie case as described by the authorities had been made out against the accused, which can only be overthrown by evidence in rebuttal." "We pray the accused to be called to enter his defence on the charge against him," he adds. Yusof ends his submission.

9.45am: Defence lawyer Ram Karpal informs the judge that he will make additional written submission on the case as he will only get a reply from DNA experts tomorrow. Yusof requests the judge to set a date for his decision. Justice Zabidin decides that all oral submission be made today while the written submission can be made later. "I will fix a date to deliver a decision," he says. It is now Karpal's turn to reply to Yusof's submission.

9.52am: Karpal says what is important is the question whether Saiful's evidence is credible. "Let us assume 'Male Y' is the accused but the question is: can the evidence of the complainant be believable to be credible?" he says.

9.54am: Karpal says the period on June 27 (the day after the alleged sodomy act) is crucial as Saiful was at the PKR office and then at Anwar's house but he later met Mumtaz Jaafar and Ezam Md Noor. "Mumtaz and Ezam are not called. There is also Saiful's testimony that Mumtaz had advised him against making a report," he said.

9.57am: Karpal says there were complaints made to the prime minister and the police chief and this shows high-level involvement. He laments that Dr Osman was not called to reply to the defence assertion that plastic had been introduced into Saiful's anus. "Evidence led does not prove 'Male Y' is the accused. Ram had gone through great lengths and that the evidence of Dr Seah Lay Hong should be excluded," he said.

10.02am: Karpal finishes his submission by insisting that Saiful's evidence was not credible. "What the court has is Seah's evidence, which corroborates with what was said, but Ram Karpal had suggested the fallacy of the findings. "Hence, to suggest 'Male Y' is the accused is untenable. What the court has are prejudicial evidence," he says.

10.10am: It's now Sankara's turn. He reiterates the samples were only given to the chemist after 97 hours to the chemist. "Are we to believe the chemist's testimony that she found semen and sperm after all this. It certainly defies logic as the sample had undergone tremendous degradation," he says. Sankara continues to suggest the possibility of tampering of the samples - "an opportunity was there and it could have been (done)."

10.24am: Sankara ends his submission. Justice Zabidin says he will deliver his verdict on May 16 on whether to proceed with the trial by requiring Anwar to enter his defence or to throw the case out.

source:malaysiakini

Liwat II: Keputusan 16 Mei

cheers.