Lawyers for former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim and the government have tentatively agreed to seek a settlement in a civil suit brought against former inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor for assaulting Anwar in 1999.

Anwars lawyer Karpal Singh told Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Abdul Hamid Said that both Anwar and the government are trying to effect for a settlement.

We will explore the possibilities and under the circumstances we wish to ask for a short adjournment to see whether the matter can be resolved, Karpal said.

The judge agreed to have the matter adjourned until May 22.

The civil suit filed three years ago by Karpal also named the government and the then home minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as defendants.

When approached by reporters after the hearing, Karpal did not elaborate on the possibilities for settlement.

However if we cannot resolve the matter the hearing would still go on in May, he said.

In his affidavit, Anwar had asked for damages, interest on the adjudged sum, costs and any further relief deemed fit.

Infamous black eye

He also claimed that he had been denied medical attention for five days after the injury and was not given the opportunity to lodge a police report on the assault which was later referred as the infamous black eye incident.

It also stated that he had been assaulted over the left forehead and neck which resulted in residual bruises over the left and lower eyelids.

After Anwar was sacked in 1998 following allegations of sexual misconduct, he was arrested and placed under the Internal Security Act for leading his newly christened Reformasi movement.

During his detention, he alleged that Rahim assaulted him until he bled and that Rahim was responsible for the chronic back pain which still ails him.

His appearance in court for the first day of his corruption trial in 1998, with a prominent black eye, shocked both local and foreign observers, but few knew the extent of his injuries until pictures taken by the police a week after the beating were revealed.

The government then initiated a royal commission of inquiry which named Rahim as the principal figure behind the assault.

Rahim jailed and fined

A Sessions Court judge found Rahim guilty on March 15, 2000 and sentenced him a year later to two months jail and a RM2,000 fine.

His later appeals for leniency before the High Court and Court of Appeal failed.

He was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt which provides for a maximum jail term of one year, a maximum fine of RM2,000 or both.

Anwar appeared in court today in a neck brace and a corset for his back pain. He was helped into the court building by the Prisons Department security personnel and grimaced when he descended from a step.

After the hearing he was sent back to the Sungai Buloh prison where he is serving a six-year jail sentence for corruption and another nine years for sodomy. Anwar, however, maintains that he was a victim of a political conspiracy.