Zahid hospitalised for slipped disc, Sept 6 court attendance 'possible' - doctor
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is in hospital for treatment of a slipped disc, a medical specialist told the High Court today.
Dr Mohd Shahir Anuar, from Avisena Specialist Hospital in Shah Alam, told presiding judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that due to his condition, chances of the Umno president attending court proceedings on Sept 6 for his corruption case involving funds of Yayasan Akalbudi was only “possible”.
Justice Sequerah: In your opinion, doctor...
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is in hospital for treatment of a slipped disc, a medical specialist told the High Court today.
Dr Mohd Shahir Anuar, from Avisena Specialist Hospital in Shah Alam, told presiding judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that due to his condition, chances of the Umno president attending court proceedings on Sept 6 for his corruption case involving funds of Yayasan Akalbudi was only “possible”.
Justice Sequerah: In your opinion, doctor, would the patient in this position come to court on September 6? He is required to sit during the proceedings, he also can take a break.
Shahir: Possible, but not longer than 40 minutes. He cannot sit for so long, he must do some stretching as well.
Yesterday, the court was scheduled to hear submissions at the end of the prosecution’s case. However, it was postponed as the accused was hospitalised last Sunday (Aug 22) due to injuries sustained from a fall.
Following this, Justice Sequerah had issued a subpoena to the doctor to come to the court to explain the medical condition of Zahid as well as the procedure the accused has to undergo, and to ascertain the recovery period.
Asked about the admission process, Shahir said Zahid informed him that he slipped in the toilet last Wednesday (Aug 18), shortly after Asar prayers, which resulted in him suffering from neck and thoracic pain.
“He has no spine fractures. Yesterday, he underwent a pain intervention procedure to alleviate pain for his slipped disc,” said the doctor.
When asked how long it would take for Zahid to walk as usual, Shahir replied “he can walk normally, but cannot sit for so long. He cannot put pressure by sitting for so long.
Justice Sequerah: Then, how long can he sit?
Shahir: Usually, for every 30-45 minutes, he needs to stand up and stretch his body.
Earlier, questioned by deputy public prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran on why the pain intervention procedure was conducted yesterday and not the day the accused was admitted (last Sunday), Shahir said he had to stabilise his patient’s condition first as he was already on medication.
Raja Rozela: Doctor, do you know that the accused went to Istana Negara on Aug 19. He also attended the swearing-in ceremony on Aug 21, a day before he was admitted. I watched the ceremony from start to finish, your patient was there. The pain he described to you did not prevent him from driving or being driven all the way to Istana Negara and he sat there for at least one hour or more until the ceremony ended.
That kind of pain could not prevent him, or did not prevent him (from going to the Istana). I put it to you that he is actually malingering because he has been seen by the whole nation basically that he is able to walk, he is able to sit, able to go around to the Palace as normal.
Shahir: I disagree. As a doctor, we have to trust our patient. I (had) made sure the pain was real and thus we conducted all investigations such as an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and a CT (computerised tomography) scan on him.
Zahid’s counsel Ahmad Zaidi Zainal questioned whether Zahid was on painkillers from the day he fell to the time he was at the Palace and if it was possible for the effects of the painkillers to wear off, to which Shahir replied “Yes, possible”.
At the end of the proceedings, the lawyer also asked the doctor to check the bench in the dock if it was suitable for Zahid to which the doctor said that it was not suitable for a patient who is suffering from a slipped disc and back pain.
“Maybe you can provide a chair with a cushion,” said Shahir.
The court then retained Sept 6 for submissions at the end of the prosecution’s case.
On March 19, the prosecution closed its case after calling 99 witnesses to testify.
Zahid, 68, is facing 47 charges - 12 for criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.
- Bernama
