26 January 2012

Saifool got to wait for written judgment on sodomy acquittal...

The grounds of written judgment of Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal, on a charge of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, are not yet ready. Anwar’s lead counsel Karpal Singh said he was informed by the trial judge’s secretary that the judgment is not yet ready.

He said this to reporters after checking on the judgment with High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah’s secretary at the Jalan Duta Court Complex in Kuala Lumpur today.
  He, however, said that a trial judge was obliged to provide a grounds of written judgment within eight weeks from the day a notice of appeal was filed, as provided under the Chief Justice’s circular.

On Jan 20, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had filed the notice of appeal against Anwar’s acquittal from the sodomy charge. The notice which was signed by solicitor-general Idrus Harun was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Criminal Registry.


Karpal also said the AGC had the power not to proceed with the appeal after perusing with the grounds of written judgment by the trial judge.


Karpal said it was still open to the AGC not to prosecute the appeal further, after reading and being satisfied with the written judgment which contained the exhibits, notes of proceedings and the written judgment.


“We have done it (not to appeal) in other cases. When I get the petition of appeal, I found the grounds were not worth to proceed with the appeal,” said Karpal.


He said the AGC had 10 days to file the petition of appeal under the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994, upon receiving the record of appeal and if the 10-day period had lapsed, it was deemed to be withdrawn (the petition of appeal).


The party who had filed the notice of appeal at the High Court registry would have to file the petition of appeal at the Court of Appeal Registry, if they wanted to pursue the appeal, upon receiving a complete record of appeal.


On Jan 9, Justice Mohamad Zabidin acquitted and discharged Anwar after the court found that it could not be 100 percent certain that the integrity of the DNA samples had not been compromised and that it was reluctant to convict Anwar based solely on the uncorroborated evidence of Mohd Saiful.  


Anwar, 64, had been charged with sodomising Mohd Saiful, 26, at a Desa Damansara condominium unit in Bukit Damansara here between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
He was charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code which carries a sentence of up to 20 years’ jail and whipping, upon conviction.


Karpal: Penghakiman bertulis pembebasan Anwar belum siap


Penghakiman bertulis berhubung pembebasan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim daripada tuduhan meliwat bekas pembantunya Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan masih belum siap, kata peguam Karpal Singh. Karpal berkata perkara itu dimaklumkan kepadanya oleh setiausaha hakim perbicaraan kes berkenaan.
  
Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita selepas membuat pertanyaan tentang penghakiman itu kepada setiausaha hakim Mahkamah Tinggi Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah di Kompleks Mahkamah Jalan Duta di ibunegara hari ini.
  
Kata peguam bela utama Anwar itu, seseorang hakim perbicaraan perlu memberi asas penghakiman bertulis dalam tempoh lapan minggu daripada tarikh notis rayuan difailkan, seperti yang disebutkan dalam Surat Pekeliling Ketua Hakim Negara.
  
Pada 20 Januari, Pejabat Peguam Negara (PPN) memfailkan notis rayuan terhadap pembebasan Anwar daripada tuduhan meliwat. Notis berkenaan, yang ditandatangani Peguamcara Negara Datuk Idrus Harun, difailkan di Pejabat Pendaftar Mahkamah Tinggi Jenayah Kuala Lumpur.
  
Karpal berkata PPN mempunyai kuasa untuk tidak meneruskan rayuan itu setelah meneliti asas yang terkandung dalam penghakiman bertulis yang disediakan hakim perbicaraan. Katanya PPN juga boleh membuat keputusan untuk tidak meneruskan rayuan setelah membaca dan berpuas hati dengan penghakiman bertulis yang mengandungi barang kes, nota prosiding dan penghakiman bertulis.
  
"Kami pernah buat begitu (tidak merayu) dalam kes lain. Apabila saya mendapat petisyen rayuan, saya dapati asasnya tidak berbaloi untuk meneruskan rayuan," katanya.

  
Karpal berkata mengikut Peraturan Mahkamah Rayuan 1994, PPN mempunyai masa 10 hari untuk memfailkan petisyen rayuan sebaik saja menerima rekod rayuan dan sekiranya tempoh 10 hari itu berlalu begitu saja, maka ia (pestisyen rayuan) dikira sudah ditarik balik.
  
Pihak yang telah memfailkan notis rayuan di Pejabat Pendaftar Mahkamah Tinggi, perlu memfailkan petisyen rayuan di Pejabat Pendaftar Mahkamah Rayuan sekiranya mereka ingin meneruskan rayuan itu, setelah menerima rekod rayuan yang lengkap.
  
Pada 9 Januari, Hakim Mohamad Zabidin membebaskan dan melepaskan Anwar setelah mahkamah mendapati ia tidak 100 peratus pasti integriti sampel DNA tidak diusik dan mahkamah itu keberatan mensabitkan kesalahan Anwar semata-mata berdasarkan keterangan Mohd Saiful yang tidak disokong oleh bukti.
  
Anwar, 64, dituduh meliwat Mohd Saiful, 26, di sebuah unit kondominium Desa Damansara,Bukit Damansara antara pukul 3.10 petang dan 4.30 petang pada 26 Jun 2008. Beliau dituduh mengikut Seksyen 377B Kanun Keseksaan yang memperuntukkan hukuman penjara hingga 20 tahun dan sebatan, jika sabit kesalahan.


source: malaysiakini

cheers.

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