Prosecution head solicitor general II Yusof Zainal Abidin said the defence's assertion in its submission yesterday that the presence of an 18 allele showed the possibility of tampered evidence does not hold water.

He said that Chemist Department analyses by Dr Seah Lay Hong on complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's rectal swabs and chemist Nor Aidora Saedon on items taken from Anwar's lock up cell did show an 18 alelle.

But this does not mean that there was a third DNA contributor as the allele did not show high peaks on the analyses graph.

NONE Yesterday, defence counsel Ram Karpal (right in photo) submitted that the presence of the 18 alelle raised a “real possibility” that the DNA was planted.

“This outrageous and unwarranted suggestion can easily be negated by the fact that the DNA of the accused was extracted from sperm cells,” Yusof said.

Yusof, submitted that Seah testified that she had spotted sperm heads under microscope, and that the DNA of one Male Y was found in the portion of the specimen which contained sperm.

In light of this, the solicitor general II submitted that if indeed the DNA was planted, only someone who had access to Anwar's semen could plant such DNA on the swabs.

“The critical question that begs to be asked is where in the world would the investigation officer obtain the semen or sperm cells of the accused,” he said.

He further submitted that Saiful's DNA was indeed found in the sperm fraction of the sample, but this was explained by Seah as “spillover” during the separation process conducted during the test.

dr brian mcdonald sodomy ll The same evidence of “spillover” was used to rebut defence witness Dr Brian McDonald's (right) testimony that Saiful's sperm was found in his own anus as his DNA was located in the sperm fraction of the sample.

“This is really a baseless and ludicrous allegation by Dr McDonald,” he said.

Yusof added that none of the accused’s DNA was found in the non-sperm fraction of the samples.

“It is abundantly clear that the claim by (defence expert witness Dr Brian) McDonald that Seah could not say the origin of the DNA profile in (the samples) and that she was guessing is without basis and unjustified,” he said.

College mate was jealous of Saifu l

Responding to the defence's submission that Saiful is a “consummate liar” and an inconsistent witness, Yusof said that this was already dealt with in the prima facie case to the prosecution's favour.

He futher submitted that Saiful's college mate Mohd Najwan Halimi, who testified that the complainant was a BN stalwart and called Anwar a munafik (hypocrite) before joining as a member of staff, was “jealous”.

NONE Mohd Najwan ( left ), he said, had described Saiful as a “man of principles” who had “leadership qualities”, but suddenly “behind his back” emailed Anwar to warn him of Saiful when the latter was hired by the politician.

He further submitted that Mohd Najwan is now an aide to Anwar in his capacity as Selangor economic advisor.

“On totality of the evidence adduced by the defence at the conclusion of its case, it is abundantly clear that the defence has failed to cast any reasonable doubt in the prosecution case,” he said.

The defence team will reply to the prosecution's submissions on Dec 15, after which Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah is expected to set a date for his decision.

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