LIVE REPORTS

The sodomy trial of PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim resumes today after a month-long break.

 

 

8.30am: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim arrives in the courtroom at the Jalan Duta court complex with wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

NONE Also seen in the courtroom is Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's father, Azlan Md Lazim.

Dr David Wells from Australia, who is the defence team's advisor in forensic, is also present.

8.33am: Defence lawyers Sankara Nair and Param Cumaraswamy enter the courtroom.

Also present are members of the prosecution team - solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, deputy public prosecutors Nordin Hassan, CK Wong, Mohd Hanafiah Zakaria and Noorin Badaruddin.

A police officer is arranging some of the sealed exhibits on a table near the prosecution's table.

9am: PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah walks into the courtroom and have a chat with Anwar.

The courtroom is not as full as previous hearing as there are still some empty seats in the public gallery.

Lead defence counsel Karpal Singh yet to be in court.

9.07am: Karpal arrives. Anwar's lawyers are meeting outside the courtroom to discuss some matters with Karpal.

9.14am: Karpal enters court with son and lawyer Ram Karpal Singh. Another lawyer in Anwar's team, CV Prabhakaran, arrives.

NONE 9.16am: Karpal, Sankara, Param, along with solicitor-general Mohd Yusof and DPP Noordin meet judge Mohamad Zabidin Md Diah ( left ) in his chambers.

9.38am: After a 20-minute meeting behind closed door, the lawyers and DPPs emerge from the judge's chambers.

9.41am: The court called into session. High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin presiding.

9.47am: Karpal tells the court that the defence wants to initiate contempt proceedings against Rahimi for statements which he had made to the media.

"He is potentially our witness. We are worried there could be more. "There is also signs this is initiated from the higher-ups," he says.

Mohd Yusof says he views such matter seriously.

Justice Zabidin allows Karpal to file necessary application for the contempt proceedings.

Court resumes with third prosecution witness, Hospital Kuala Lumpur forensic Dr Siew Sheue Feng.

Initially Dr Mohd Razali was scheduled to be cross-examined but judge allow for the third witness to take the stand.

9.58am: Dr Siew, 40, says he has overseen between 200 to 300 forensic cases. He has also seen approximately 20 sodomy cases.

He says he saw Saiful Bukhari on June 28 last year at the one-stop crisis centre of the emergency department at the hospital.

10.06am: Dr Siew says there was a briefing by the police on the case.

Three doctors - Dr Siew, Dr Khairul Nizam and Dr Razali - subsequently discussed on their respective tasks in handling the case.

"I was tasked to handle the specimen taken from the victim," he says.

"Saiful gave consent to be examined and photographs be taken from his private parts. Consent was also given to collect specimen."

Dr Siew says Saiful related that he had been sodomised a specific number of times for the past two months by a high-profile individual - the last was on June 26, 2008.

"The high-profile individual did not use condom."

Karpal wants the number of times which Saiful claimed he was sodomised expunged.

azlan 10.15am: Judge Mohamed Zabidin rules that the number of times that Saiful told the doctor he was sodomised be expunged as this was not stated in the sodomy charge.

10.35am: Dr Siew relates that Dr Mohd Razali took samples on cotton swab on the high and lower rectal of Saiful's anus. He says Dr Razali also took samples from peri-anal.

According to the witness, his colleague Dr Khairul Nizam also took blood samples from Saiful and used cotton swabs to take samples from Saiful's nipple.

10.39am: All the samples were sealed in a plastic container and signed by Saiful and the three doctors.

Dr Siew agrees that initial findings showed no signs of bodily injury on Saiful or his anal region.

10.49am: The witness says the samples from four cotton swabs revealed seminal fluid. The cotton swabs were taken from high rectal, low rectal and peri-anal.

"This shows there is penile penetration following the discovery of male semen sample," says Dr Siew.

10.54am: Dr Siew ends his testimony and steps out of witness box. Lead defence lawyer Karpal says he reserves the right to cross-examine the HKL doctor.

Court stands down for 10 minutes.

11.13am: Court resumes with the calling of Dr Khairul Nizam Hassan as the third witness.

11.19am: Dr Khairul Nizam, 40, says he had attended 20 sodomy cases.

He is questioned by DPP Nordin Hassan, who had earlier also questioned Dr Siew.

Dr Khairul says he was on duty on June 28, 2008 and he had examined Saiful.

Saiful was wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and black jacket. He met Saiful at KLH's one-stop centre.

11.23am: Dr Khairul says he conducted a physical examination of Saiful, while Dr Razali examined the victim's anal area.

"Dr Siew is in charge of sampling. I was also placed in charge of getting the history of the patient."

11.27am: Dr Khairul Nizam says he conducted a head-to-toe physical examination on Saiful, starting from the head down to the toes.

He noticed old scars on the victim's back and measured them.

NONE 11.32am: Dr Khairul Nizam says he took saliva sample from left and right nipple, areola, seminal sample from mouth and blood sample.

He says all specimens were sealed by Dr Siew ( left ).

11.40am: Dr Khairul Nizam says all items and containers used were sterile.

11.44am : Dr Khairul rules there is penile penetration following discovery of male semen on peri-anal, low rectal and high rectal areas.

11.49am: Dr Khairul Nizam says it was possible to have no sign of injury to the anal region if there is penetration.

Asked under what circumstances, the witness says: 

1) if the duration of the victim being examined by the doctor took place a long time after the incident.

2) there was no resistance

3) the use of lubricants

11.52am: Karpal reserves cross-examination of Dr Khairul Nizam.

11:53am: Court stands down.

Hearing will continue on Oct 25.

Sodomy II: The story so far