[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 19 Aug 1999
Time: 01:25:55
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Judge rejects Anwar bid to cite police officer for contempt
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (AFP) - A Malaysian judge on Thursday rejected a move by ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim to cite a top policeman for contempt.
Justice Arifin Jaka dismissed the application by Anwar's counsel Karpal Singh to cite Senior Assistant Commissioner Musa Hassan, the investigating officer of the sodomy case.
"He (Musa) is not lying although there is a contradiction," said Arifin. "But it must be read in the context of the questions asked. The application is without basis and I therefore disallow the application."
Anwar on Wednesday urged the court trying him on sodomy charges to cite a senior police officer for contempt.
"I am applying for the witness (Musa) to be charged with contempt of court immediately," Anwar's counsel Karpal Singh had said.
"He is lying in the face of the court. This man should be locked up," Karpal said after Musa contradicted earlier testimony about why Anwar's alleged victim did not undergo a medical examination.
Anwar, fired and arrested in September last year, is serving a six-year sentence handed down in April for corruption involving attempts to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct.
Anwar and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan are accused of sodomising Anwar's former driver Azizan Abu Bakar between January and March 1993. Sukma faces a further charge of abetting Anwar to sodomise Azizan.
If convicted of sodomy, Anwar could face an additional 20 years in jail.
Musa had earlier told the court that in June 1999 he asked Azizan to remember the date he was sodomised because the dates in the charge were not correct.
The police investigator, when questioned by prosecutors, said he did not send Azizan for medical examinations because the alleged incident had happened six years earlier.
"In my experience of rape cases, it will not leave any mark after such a long time," he had said.
But when questioned by the defence, Musa told the court he had no experience in dealing with sodomy cases and agreed Azizan should have been sent for a medical test based on the initial charge date.
The date of Anwar's alleged offence has been changed three times since he was initially charged.
As the trial resumed, Musa said he was aware Anwar's line of defence in the sodomy trial was one of alibi and that he was prepared to carry out investigations.
Justice Arifin adjourned the trial for a few hours, upon a defence request, to enable the police to investigate the alibi question.