Anwar Ibrahim's conviction for sodomy should have been set aside because his co-accused Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja was used against him, the Court of Appeal heard today.

Lawyer Karpal Singh ( photo ) submitted that High Court judge Arifin Jaka misdirected himself when he relied o­n Sukma's confession to find the ex-deputy premier guilty of the offence.

"A confession of a co-accused cannot be made a base of a conviction for the other accused. A confession can o­nly be taken (into consideration) to support an existing strong evidence," he said.

Karpal said the judge can o­nly consider the confession after he was convinced that the prosecution has submitted enough evidence to support its case beyond reasonable doubt.