The semen stain found on the lower rectal swab, B9, taken from sodomy accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, was predominantly that of the ‘Male Y', chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong told the High Court in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

Testifying during re-examination by DPP Noorin Badaruddin (below), the witness who heads the Serious Crimes Unit of the Chemistry Department, said she based her finding on the semen and non-semen extracts in her report and that from other procedures performed.

NONE "Beside that of Saiful, the other, and a significant contributor, in the semen found in the low rectal area of the victim's anus is that of ‘Male Y'. The identity is none other than that of ‘Male Y'.

"Male Y is the main contributor to sperm fraction and hence, I can conclude it is ‘Male Y's sperm up in Saiful's anus," the witness said.

Seah explained that Saiful's DNA on B9 was only found on the non-sperm extract.

The chemist was also asked about the suggestion that the B8 high rectal swab contained Saiful's own semen, to which she said she disagreed with such a notion put forth yesterday by defence counsel Ram Karpal Singh.

However, Seah only explained technically why the suggestion was not plausible, based on her findings on the non-sperm and sperm extracts.

Earlier, she said ‘Male Y' may have shared a similar allele reading of 12, as Saiful's.

She also explained her finding on a strain of "unidentified hair" taken from the floor near a door of the condominium where the alleged sodomy took place was that it was pubic hair.

Seah NONE ( right ) agreed that this was not stated in the police recording document, the Pol 31 form, but she based her finding that it (the hair) came from the pubic area after conducting an examination.

The prosecution also asked about the possibility of seminal fluid ejaculated inside Saiful's anus making its way to the front of his underwear.

Noorin: Describe the seminal fluid on Saiful's underwear.

Seah: It is located on the front and central areas.

Noorin: Could the seminal fluid make its way there?

However, defence counsel Ram Karpal objected, pointing out that witness had said yesterday that she could not speculate. After a brief argument between Ram and solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, Justice Mohaamd Zabidin Mohd Diah allowed the objection.

Protecting her findings

Seah when testifying late this morning had defended her DNA findings, saying that calibration checks were done periodically to ensure the DNA Viewer and Applied Biosystem Genetic Analyser were running well.

"Yes, it was checked and it was performing and functioning properly," the witness said.

The chemist also replied that the permutation or combination raised by the lawyer on Friday and Monday, suggesting more male DNA samples, was not correct.

"It cannot be termed as a conclusion, as it is merely a hypothetical situation in determining a DNA profile," Seah said.

NONE The defence has suggested that based on the combination of DNA readings on the alleles, there could be more than three contributors to the semen or semen stains found in Saiful's ( left ) anus and peri-anal area.

The witness also denied a suggestion that she did not perform the necessary tests to determine "drop-outs" (a sudden decline in allele) as suggested by a journal from the International Society of Forensic Genetics, which was raised by senior defence lawyer Karpal Singh.

"This is a 2006 publication. Science is a dynamic field as it always changes. The procedure has changed," said Seah.

She maintained that the swabs taken from B7 (high rectal), B8 (high rectal) and B9 (low rectal) areas contained the DNA of Saiful and ‘Male Y'.

On Saiful being described as a passive homosexual by Karpal and the notion of attempted sodomy, Noorin asked Seah what she understood by "attempted sodomy".

The witness replied, "attempted sexual assault".

Hearing continues tomorrow with Seah still on the stand. A sixth witness, possibly another chemist, may also be called as witness tomorrow.