Wednesday 24 August 2011
Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II: Semen can’t be used as evidence, court told
Defence witness Assoc Prof Dr David Lawrence Noel Wells, from Melbourne, said the specimens were only retrieved 56 hours after the alleged sodomy.
“DNA samples that are more than 36 hours (old) are no longer meaningful. It would be difficult to get results from such specimens,” he told the High Court here yesterday.
Questioned by counsel S.N. Nair, Dr Wells said the best way to handle a sample was to place a swab stick with the specimen in an air-dried container into a sealed bag and send it to the laboratory immediately.
Otherwise, he said, it must be kept in a freezer, he said, adding that if not, it would lose its protein or get destroyed.
When Nair asked if it was fine for a swab to be taken and sent for testing to the laboratory 43 hours later, Dr Wells said “it would not be pretty”.
Earlier, Dr Mohammad Osman Abdul Hamid, a medical officer at Pusat Rawatan Islam (Pusrawi), said Mohd Saiful's anus was healthy although he complained of pain when passing motion.
Dr Mohammad Osman was the first doctor that Anwar's former personal aide saw on June 28, 2008, two days after the alleged sodomy.
He said he carried out an examination on Mohd Saiful using a protoscope and found his anus healthy.
“After the examination, he (Mohd Saiful) told me that he was sodomised and plastic was inserted into his anus. I noted this down, told Mohd Saiful to lodge a police report and go to a government hospital,” he said.
Dr Mohammad Osman disagreed with Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden's suggestion that information about the insertion of plastic in Mohd Saiful's anus was added to the medical report later.
On March 11, investigating officer Deputy Supt Jude Pereira testified that he kept the swabs taken from Kuala Lumpur Hospital on June 29, 2008, in his cabinet at the Brickfields district police headquarters before sending them to the Chemist Department to be tested 43 hours later.
On Monday, Anwar, who was ordered by the court to enter his defence, gave his unsworn statement from the dock - meaning the prosecution would not be able to cross-examine him.
He took more than an hour to read out his 32-page statement that day.
On Aug 7, 2008, Anwar claimed trial to sodomising Mohd Saiful at a condominium in Bukit Damansara here on June 26, 2008.
The hearing continues today.
> It has been pointed out to us that we named the late Raja Aziz Addruse as the lead counsel in Anwar's defence team in our information box yesterday. Raja Aziz passed away on July 12, this year. We apologise for the error.
ORIGINAL POST: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/24/nation/9359153&sec=nation
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