Investigating officer Supt Jude Blacious Pereira dropped a bombshell today at the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial when he testified that he had recorded statements from Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

Complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan had in his testimony said that he had met Najib in 2008, who was then deputy prime minister.

However, Saiful denied meeting Rosmah but said he met her close confidante, Mumtaz Jaafar.

Pereira to questions from lead counsel Karpal Singh agreed that the police had recorded statements from a number of individuals after Saiful had lodged the police report.

Karpal: Who are the other people you met in the course of investigation after June 26, 2008?

Pereira: (Hesitantly) I met several people.

Karpal: Who?

Pereira:

Rahimi (Osman, Anwar's former aide), Ezam (Mohd Nor, former PKR Youth chief, now senator), Tuah (Saiful's uncle) and...

Karpal: Datuk Mumtaz?

Pereira: Yes.

Karpal: How about Najib?

Pereira:  Yes.

Pereira: Was there a statement recorded from Rosmah?

Pereira:

Yes... but I have to check.

Karpal: Just now you said ‘yes’?

Pereira: Wait, I have to check. Yes, I took statement from Rosmah on July 17, 2008.

Najib's statement recorded

After a short break, Karpal began questioning Pereira on Saiful's meeting with Najib before June 26, 2008, the day of the incident.

There was also a light moment in court when Pereira's phone suddenly rang while he was on the witness stand.

This led to someone in the public gallery to say "Ini Rosmah talipon" (Rosmah is calling) , and laughter broke out.

Court police personnel sternly told occupants of the public gallery to keep quiet.

Karpal: Saiful met Najib before June 26, 2008.

Pereira:

Yes, he met Najib on June 24.

Karpal:

Did you record a statement from Najib?

Pereira: Yes

Karpal: What is DSP Rodhwan's (Yusof) role in this? (Rodhwan, played an important role in sodomy I trial)

Pereira : No role in investigation, but before... Yusof objects to the question as this would be heresay evidence. Saiful in his testimony had said that after meeting Najib, he had also met Rodhwan the next day to seek his help.

Pereira's credibility challenged

Earlier at the start of the cross-examination, Karpal challenged Pereira's credibility as a witness when he showed that the police officer's statements were not accepted by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) during an inquiry held last year into the detention of five lawyers holding a night vigil at the Brickfields police station to protest the Internal Security Act.

Pereira, said he was not the investigating officer but was responsible for not allowing  lawyers access to those who had been arrested earlier that night.

He admitted his testimony was not accepted as there was some contradictions (sedikit percanggahan)

Karpal:

What 'sedikit percanggahan'? (What little contradictions?) I do not want to threaten you. It is 'percanggahan' serious? 

  Pereira: Yes.

Karpal: Do not tell lies under oath, and this led to solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden to object to the line of questioning and a request not to make a political speech.

Pereira maintained he did not lie at the Suhakam inquiry, prompting the senior lawyer to ask on the findings of the inquiry. However, Justice Zabidin questioned its relevance to which Karpal said it involved the witness' credibility.

Karpal then asked Pereira to read the Suhakam inquiry's findings.

"We find the evidence of DSP Jude Pereira totally unsatisfactory. DSP Jude Pereira either consciously were not telling the truth or suffered from a serious bout of loss of memory." - the report said

The Suhakam inquiry was chaired by then Suhakam commissioner and reknowned lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Karpal wanted the report to be marked as evidence but Yusof objected, as this was not the whole inquiry report. He wanted it marked instead as ID (identification) instead. Justice Zabidin allowed the objection. 

Pereira did not keep items in freezer

The investigating officer, when replying to questions from Sankara Nair, said the cotton swabs he retrieved from HKL were kept in his office safe.

He conceded that under the Inspector-General's Standing Orders , (the IGSO) such items should have been kept in the police station storeroom.

"I've violated the IGSO directive (to keep swab items) in my cabinet and not in the store... I placed personal importance on the items. So I put them in a metal cabinet and my room has air-conditioning,” said Pereira.

The witness agreed that HKL pathologist Dr Siew Sheue Feng had told him the samples should be kept in a freezer, but that he chose to keep it in the office safe.

“I placed the swabs in a metal cabinet in my office to guard them personally. I agree there is a freezer, in the storeroom, but there are many things in it (the freezer).”

DNA samples are normally kept in a freezer to prevent contamination and degradation.

  Purpose of Rosmah and Najib questions

Karpal pointed out after court proceedings the purpose the defence asked the question on Najib and Rosmah was to show their involvement in the case.

"Since their statement were recorded by the police. We can call them as witnesses should defence be called. If their statement was not recorded, we cannot call them as witness and this is important," he said.

Karpal from day one indicated that they will call Rosmah and Najib as possible defence witnesses to prove its theory of political persecution.

Anwar, when met outside court said this showed the high level conspiracy by the country's leaders.  

"Although Saiful avoided mentioning Rosmah, he was told not to mention Rosmah, so he actually lied in court."

"Now its established, Saiful must have mentioned (her), so that's why now they have to record Rosmah's statement, meaning Rosmah was involved. The prosecution in this case is under political instruction," he said.