Anwar’s application to strike out sodomy charge dismissed

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KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has dismissed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s application to strike out the sodomy charge against him over the alleged affair between DPP Farah Azlina Latif and key witness Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
However, he was granted a stay of proceedings pending an appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah ruled that there was no issue of Anwar not getting a fair trial as Farah did not have access to the investigation papers and that her role had been merely to take notes in court.
“She was not the one who made the decision to charge the accused. She was also not the one handling the direction of the prosecution.
“Neither did she handle the examination of a witness,” he said, adding that whatever influence Mohd Saiful had on her as a result of their alleged relationship could not have been to the point of compromising the prosecution’s integrity.
Although Anwar’s counsel Karpal Singh immediately applied for an adjournment to file an appeal against the decision and for a stay of proceedings, the court insisted on carrying on with the cross-examination of Hospital Kuala Lumpur surgical specialist Dr Mohd Razali Ibrahim.
When Karpal requested for a 30-minute break, the judge said: “You can have a break but you will continue with the cross-examination after that.”
Karpal then replied that the “defence would not accept any condition and would proceed subject to its strategy.”
At the end of the break, Karpal told the court that he would be able to file the appeal and stay application “within the hour” and that the matter could be heard in the afternoon.
“We will go on, even after 5pm.
“Even into the night,” he said as laughter was heard from the public gallery.
The court was then adjourned to 2.15pm for it to hear the stay application and the defence to file an appeal notice.
When proceedings resumed, the court vacated all his trial dates until end of October, and fixed Sept 20 for mention.
Anwar had earlier applied to have his charge struck out on grounds that the integrity of the prosecution team, led by Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, had been compromised as a result of the alleged affair.