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Jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's adopted brother today told the High Court that his apartment in Tivoli Villa, where the alleged sodomy act took place, was uninhibited until April 1993.

Building his defence of alibi, Sukma Dermawan Sasmitaat Madja told judge Arifin Jaka that he received the keys to his new apartment in December 1992 but did not move in until major renovations were completed four months later. The renovations, he added, involved wallpapering, installation of air conditioners and work on the ceiling.

The court also heard that Sukma was issued a warning by Tivoli Villa developer Bandaraya Development for exceeding the time allocated for renovations. "We will produce witnesses from Bandaraya Development to prove this," lead counsel Christopher Fernando said.

Sukma, who was questioned by his counsel Gobind Singh Deo, sought to show the court that the alleged sodomy act could not have taken place between January and March as stated in the charge as renovation work was still in progress in his apartment.

Anwar and Sukma are charged with sodomising ex-driver Azizan Abu Bakar on one night between January and March 1993 at 7.45pm in Tivoli Villa, which is located in Bangsar. Sukma is also charged with abetting and aiding Anwar in the sex act.

Sukma told the court that Anwar first visited him in Tivoli Villa in June during a house warming party where Azizan was also briefly there to help him moved into his apartment. "Besides helping me to carry some personal items into my apartment, I had no other contact with Azizan," Sukma said.

Azizan, in his evidence, repeatedly asserted he was sodomised in Tivoli Villa but did not mention the alleged renovation work that was in progress. The original sodomy charge was earlier amended twice, after it was found that Azizan had contradicted himself on the exact time frame of the alleged sex act and when it was found that the period of the alleged sodomy mentioned by the former driver was before the apartment was built.

At the start of the sodomy trial, Azizan had repeatedly contradicted himself during cross examination, forcing the defence to initiate impeachment proceedings against him. Arifin, too, lost his temper with Azizan on a number of occasions and accused him of "coming up with different stories".

Answering a question from Gobind, Sukma said that Azizan's testimony was false. "I have never sodomised or aided Anwar to sodomise Azizan." Sukma also said there was no truth to the charges leveled against him in court.

Sukma, who made a confession last year accusing Anwar of sodomising him, reiterated that he was following police orders. "I was coerced by the police to give the evidence as they promised me that I would be released the following day."

He recanted his confession later, stating it was written under duress. The court, last week, heard that Sukma wrote a six-page letter of apology to Anwar while in detention in Bukit Aman and slipped it into his adopted brother's cell unnoticed by prison guards.

Substantiating the evidence, Sukma said he folded the letter into a small piece before throwing it into Anwar's cell. He got up from the witness stand and folded the letter into four neat folds, counting loudly, much to the amusement of his sister who is visiting from Indonesia.

One-time heir apparent, Anwar, stands trial for sodomy and sexual misconduct and is currently serving a six-year jail term for corruption. He had vehemently asserted his innocence and accuses the government of cooking up the charges to end his political career. Sukma's cross-examination continues tomorrow morning.

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