updated version

Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was sent back to the Sungai Buloh Prison today from Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) where he underwent treatment for a slipped disc since November last year.

At about 3pm this afternoon, Anwar, in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace, was hoisted by two policemen to a waiting ambulance. His family and a small group of supporters were present to see him off. Some were seen crying, amidst shouts of Allahuakbar .

Over the past months, Anwar's medical condition had become a subject of domestic and international debate, invoking sympathy, ridicule and a host of other reactions on a political and personal spectrum.

His wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, when met at the hospital, claimed that her husband was being discharged and taken back to prison despite the latest Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan showing no change in his condition.

Wan Azizah, who was in tears, expressed her wish that her husband, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence on charges of corruption and sodomy, would continue to receive treatment at the prison.

"We have no idea what facilities will be available to him but we were told that prison doctors will continue to check on him," she said.

She hoped Anwar will be allowed to be present at the High Court this Saturday when five remaining criminal charges against him will be mentioned.

Previously, Anwar and his family had requested permission for the former to undergo an endoscopic microsurgery by German specialist Dr Thomas Hoogland, but it was shot down by the government, who proposed that the foreign specialist perform the surgery here instead.

However, Hoogland refused to operate in Malaysia following the government's questioning of his expertise.

On April 25, HKL director sent a letter to Anwar providing him the option of either undergoing the surgery locally or returning to prison.

Two weeks ago, Anwar, in a letter to Abdul Razak, refused the surgery option, stating that his right to the choice of treatment has been politicised and denied.