As expected, Prime Minister Najib Razak's government claims the owner of the 'Male Y' DNA found in sodomy complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan's anus belonged to Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
According to lead prosecutor Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, the Male Y DNA sample matched those of Anwar taken from three items - a water bottle, a towel and a toothbrush - left in a cell where he had spent the night after he was arrested in July 2008.
“It confirms the unknown contributor Male Y is Datuk Seri Anwar. This shows there is a prima facie case,” Mohd Yusof told the court.
Anwar was charged for sodomising party worker Saiful at a posh condo in Kuala Lumpur in 2008 shortly after he announced planned to make his parliamentary comeback. He has denied the charges and has accused Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor of hatching the plot to destroy his political career.
If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years jail as sodomy is a crime in Malaysia.
This is also the second time that that Najib's BN coalition is prosecuting Anwar for sodomy in a bid to stem his politial rise. The first took place in 1998 and Anwar had to spend 6 years in jail before the top apex court threw out the charges and acquitted him in 2004.
Serious fundamental flaws in evidence
Earlier on Monday, Anwar's defense team had called for an aquittal, claiming that Saiful had lied during his court testimony.
They pointed out fundamental discrepancies such as Saiful insisting it was non-consensual while the government tried to change the charge sheet to consensual as Saiful is a strapping 6-footer while Anwar is a frail 63-year old suffering from a back injury sustained during his first incarceration in 1999.
They also pointed the the flaws in the chemist's DNA report which showed the presence of semen from 5 different men in Saiful's anus, the unlawful manner in which Anwarwas arrested last year and the 3 items that were then taken from his cell without his approval for the purpose of DNA matching.
"It is a political conspiracy. The information has been fabricated and the ase has moved exactly along the lines that we had warned about. The evidence that was from Saiful's anus was tempered to make it look like it was Anwar's DNA," Anwar's lawyer and Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah told Malaysia Chronicle.
"The police kept the sample for a few days but we don't know what the police was doing with the sample. This is not the first time the police did this. During the Sodomy I in 1999, the police illegally took a sample of Anwar's blood to produce a sample of his DNA to show as proof in the court."
Seminal fluid not sodomy, says government
As for the prosecution, Yusof said Anwar was the sole detainee in the lockup at the time when the items were taken. Chemist Dr Nor Aidora Saedon and Supt Amidon Anan were called earlier this month to identify the items to be marked as exhibits.
Male Y was among the two DNA profiles reported by government chemist Seah Lay Hong, who had testified last month. In her report, she did not mention the presence of the other 3 samples, insisting they were mere seminal fluid.
But the defense has insisted that seminal fluid also indicated sodomy as it showed the introduction of a penis into Saiful's anus.
Anwar has refused to provide DNA samples for fear they could be manipulated. Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim has backed up this claim, when he revealed in January how DNA evidence had been fabricated in Anwar’s first sodomy trial.
The court adjourned with the prosecution due to resume its submissions on Tuesday.
- Malaysia Chronicle
According to lead prosecutor Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, the Male Y DNA sample matched those of Anwar taken from three items - a water bottle, a towel and a toothbrush - left in a cell where he had spent the night after he was arrested in July 2008.
“It confirms the unknown contributor Male Y is Datuk Seri Anwar. This shows there is a prima facie case,” Mohd Yusof told the court.
Anwar was charged for sodomising party worker Saiful at a posh condo in Kuala Lumpur in 2008 shortly after he announced planned to make his parliamentary comeback. He has denied the charges and has accused Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor of hatching the plot to destroy his political career.
If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years jail as sodomy is a crime in Malaysia.
This is also the second time that that Najib's BN coalition is prosecuting Anwar for sodomy in a bid to stem his politial rise. The first took place in 1998 and Anwar had to spend 6 years in jail before the top apex court threw out the charges and acquitted him in 2004.
Serious fundamental flaws in evidence
Earlier on Monday, Anwar's defense team had called for an aquittal, claiming that Saiful had lied during his court testimony.
They pointed out fundamental discrepancies such as Saiful insisting it was non-consensual while the government tried to change the charge sheet to consensual as Saiful is a strapping 6-footer while Anwar is a frail 63-year old suffering from a back injury sustained during his first incarceration in 1999.
They also pointed the the flaws in the chemist's DNA report which showed the presence of semen from 5 different men in Saiful's anus, the unlawful manner in which Anwarwas arrested last year and the 3 items that were then taken from his cell without his approval for the purpose of DNA matching.
"It is a political conspiracy. The information has been fabricated and the ase has moved exactly along the lines that we had warned about. The evidence that was from Saiful's anus was tempered to make it look like it was Anwar's DNA," Anwar's lawyer and Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah told Malaysia Chronicle.
"The police kept the sample for a few days but we don't know what the police was doing with the sample. This is not the first time the police did this. During the Sodomy I in 1999, the police illegally took a sample of Anwar's blood to produce a sample of his DNA to show as proof in the court."
Seminal fluid not sodomy, says government
As for the prosecution, Yusof said Anwar was the sole detainee in the lockup at the time when the items were taken. Chemist Dr Nor Aidora Saedon and Supt Amidon Anan were called earlier this month to identify the items to be marked as exhibits.
Male Y was among the two DNA profiles reported by government chemist Seah Lay Hong, who had testified last month. In her report, she did not mention the presence of the other 3 samples, insisting they were mere seminal fluid.
But the defense has insisted that seminal fluid also indicated sodomy as it showed the introduction of a penis into Saiful's anus.
Anwar has refused to provide DNA samples for fear they could be manipulated. Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim has backed up this claim, when he revealed in January how DNA evidence had been fabricated in Anwar’s first sodomy trial.
The court adjourned with the prosecution due to resume its submissions on Tuesday.
- Malaysia Chronicle
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