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Prosecution going one direction, Saiful the other

I refer to medai reports which said, quote: 'In the wake of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's cross-examination earlier this week, some lawyers are arguing whether defence lawyer Karpal Singh has made the right move in raising the issue of consensual versus non-consensual carnal intercourse so early in the trial'. Unquote.

Even as a layman, I am astonished and aghast that some lawyers, if not many, including well-known bloggers and commentators, do not seem to understand why Karpal is demanding impeachment procedures be initiated against Saiful and that the case against Anwar Ibrahim be dismissed now.

The issue is not one of consensual vs non-consensual per se. It is that the solicitor-general has proceeded with a consensual charge but the prosecution's only and main witness/participant to alleged sodomy is now claiming that it was all non-consensual.

This is akin to a court case where the charge is shooting murder, premeditated killing, but the star and sole witness testifies under oath in no uncertain terms that it was an accidental stabbing.

In Saiful's case, as it stands, there is no nexus between the charge of consensual sodomy and Saiful's insistence that it was completely non-consensual. In other words, the solicitor-general is proceeding in one direction while Saiful has apparently thrown out the script and moved away to a diametrically opposite position.

Under these circumstances, it is clearly evident that the charge as it stands cannot be proven. More than that, the prosecution cannot tender a new charge at this late date as Saiful's basic honesty would be called into question.

Say, if the prosecution amends the charge to a non-consensual one, he will have to contend with two (possibly three) independent medical reports which unequivocally state there were no signs of forced or violent sexual encounter.

In addition, there are those curious testimonies under oath where Saiful claims a doctor he picked at random at the Pusrawi Hospital lied in his written report about a 'plastic object' and that he (Saiful) supported Umno but voted PKR.

As to why the judge has yet to compel the solicitor-general to hand over the complete witness list to the defence, it must remain among those mysteries cases like these seem to attract.

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