TUESDAY-29 JULY 2008- POLICE DENY DETAINING DOCTOR IN ANWAR'S SODOMY INVESTIGATION

Police deny detaining doctor in Anwar’s sodomy investigation

KUALA LUMPUR:

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar yesterday denied that the police had arrested a doctor to assist in the sodomy investigation involving Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He said the claim, published in Malaysia Today news portal, was baseless as the male doctor was only called up to have his statement recorded. “We are only taking the statement in accordance with the normal procedure. The issue of arrest does not arise,” he said when contacted yesterday. He said the doctor was among 18 witnesses whose statements had been recorded previously. Ismail also refused to comment on a report by Malaysiakini news portal that a doctor who examined Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azian found no evidence that he was sodomised. “I don’t want to comment because the investigation is still ongoing,” he said. Mohd Saiful, 23, was said to have undergone the medical examination at the hospital in Jalan Tun Razak at 2pm on June 28 for “tenesmus” or difficulty in passing motion. Meanwhile, the Bar Council called for a thorough investigating into the case. “This calls for the courage and profesionalism of all those involved to do the right thing no matter the consequences,” its President Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said in a statement. - Bernama