KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) -- The investigating officer (IO) in the sodomy case of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told the High Court here Thursday that Anwar was detained overnight because lock-up rules did not permit recording of statements from suspects after 6pm.
Supt Judy Blacious Pereira explained that it was already 10.25pm when he brought Anwar back to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters after the accused was asked to undergo a medical examination at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) on July 16, 2008.
Pereira said as Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) did not allow interrogations to be done after 6pm, he had to detain Anwar overnight at the lock-up of the Serious Crimes Division of the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters so that he could complete recording of Anwar's statement the next day.
Testifying during examination-in-chief by Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden, Pereira said he started recording Anwar's statement at 2.45pm at the division's meeting room on July 16 and that the session ended at 5.40pm followed by Anwar being sent to HKL for blood samples to be taken.
He said Anwar's lawyer R. Sivarasa was present during the statement recording session.
Pereira, who is the last prosecution witness, said although Anwar had agreed to the medical examination, after consultations with Sivarasa and another lawyer over the telephone, he (Anwar) later did not allow the blood samples to be taken.
Asked what reasons Anwar gave, Pereira said the accused spoke about his experience at the HKL in 1998 but the witness told the court he did not know what experience Anwar was referring to.
Pereira also said Anwar was holding a mineral water bottle when he and another police officer led the accused to the lock-up after returning fron HKL.
He added that Anwar was released at 9.30am the next day after he completed recording Anwar's statement.
Anwar, 63, the Parti Keadilan rakyat advisor and member of parliament for Permatang Pauh, is alleged to have sodomised his former aide, Mohd Saiful, 25, at Unit 11-5-1, Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
To another question from Mohamed Yusof, Pereira said he positively identified four people in a CCTV recording obtained from the condominium where the sodomy incident is alleged to have happened.
Besides Anwar and Mohd Saiful, the other two persons were the owners of units 11-5-1 and 11-5-2 who were Hasanudin Abd Hamid and former Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) chief operating officer Prof Dr Mohd Arif Abdul Karim, he said.
He further said that the recording also revealed that the vehicles of the four individuals and those of three others entered the condominium's premises on June 26 between noon and 6pm.
To another question, Pereira said neither Anwar nor Sivarasa had asked why Anwar was arrested during the recording of his (Anwar's ) statement but as the IO, he had infomed them that it was regarding a police report lodged by Mohd Saiful alleging that the accused had sodomised him (Mohd Saiful).
He also told the court that he seized a tube of K Y Jelly with the brand name of Johnson & Johnson which was brought by Mohd Saiful to the Brickfields police station on June 29, 2008.
Asked whether any other exhibits were taken besides those obtained from the lock up and the condominium, Pereira said he seized a dark blue underwear belonging to Mohd Saiful which was retrieved from the washing machine at the house of Mohd Saiful's girlfriend.
The hearing before judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah continues tomorrow whereby the witness will be cross-examined by the defence.
-- BERNAMA