Hospital Kuala Lumpur surgical specialist Dr Mohd Razali Ibrahim came under the spotlight in Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial today when he testified there were traces of semen in four out of 10 cotton swabs used in swiping the rectum of the victim.

Three of them were specimens taken from Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's anus, while the other was from the area around it.

According to Dr Mohd Razali, this was evidence of penile penetration.

This was contrary to the HKL's initial report that there were no tears, fissures or scarring of the anal region, and there was no conclusive clinical findings to suggest penetration of the anus/rectum.

mohd yusof zainal abiden The report which was done by Dr Mohd Razali and two other doctors - Dr Khairul Nizam Hassan and Dr Siew Shueu Feng - also noted that Saiful had carried no defensive wounds on his body.

Dr Mohd Razali, who was responding to questions from solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden ( left ), however, did not disclose to whom the semen specimen belonged to.

On the examination conducted at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital's emergency room at 9pm on June 28, 2008, Mohd Razali, a Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate, said he did it together with Dr Khairul and Dr Siew.

Also present at the examination room was investigating officer ASP (now DSP) Jude Pereira and medical assistants and nurses.

Dr Mohd Razali, who also holds a Masters in Surgery from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said in the past he had examined approximately 100 anuses for various injuries.

NONE In most of the cases, cotton swabs and syringes were used for taking specimens.

He said before examining Saiful, he was briefed on the case and at the start the victim gave details of the incident where he was allegedly sodomised by a public figure.

"On examination of the victim, I found there were no tears, fissures or scarring of the anal region. An examination was conducted with a protoscope inside Saiful's anus.

"As it was difficult to insert the instrument, a lubricant was used. I found it to be moist in the perianal area. There was also a small hemorrhoid," he said, adding he used cotton swabs to take specimens from the anal region.

Where the swabs had ventured

To questions from Mohd Yusof, Dr Mohd Razali said that once he had taken a sample, he handed it over to Dr Siew - who is a forensic pathologist - to seal it. The samples were then given to Jude.

According to the report, the samples were taken to a laboratory for analysis at about 12.35am the next day, on June 29.

He said that semen samples were found on the four cotton swabs and comparing with the laboratory report, he found that two of them were retrieved from the upper rectum, one from the lower rectum and the other from perianal.

The upper and lower rectum samples were taken inside Saiful anus, while the perianal is the area surrounding the anus.

Based on this evidence of the presence of semen samples, Dr Mohd Razali when asked by Mohd Yusof concluded that there had been penile penetration.

NONE "Based on the clinical forensic analysis and also the lab report, along with what the victim had related, there was evidence of penile penetration. This was despite a lubricant used to insert the protoscope," he said.

Dr Mohd Razali also told the court earlier that two set of samples from Saiful were also kept in the hospital as control items.

Saiful in his testimony had claimed that a lubricant was used when Anwar sodomised him.

Questioned further by Mohd Yusof, Dr Mohd Razali said although their medical report had stated no conclusive clinical findings to suggest penetration of the anus/rectum, it was not final as it had to be compared with the laboratory report.

Though not mentioned in court, the KLH doctors report also stated the presence of two male DNA types retrieved from Saiful's upper and lower rectum.

The issue came up again when Mohd Yusof told the Federal Court last month, in one of Anwar's appeals to strike out the sodomy charge, that two male DNA specimens retrieved from cotton swabs showed the presence of semen.

The trial will continue at 9am tomorrow when Dr Mohd Razali is expected to be cross-examined by the defence.

HKL clinical forensic report on Saiful