Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has asked a Malaysian court to throw out a sodomy charge against him, two weeks before the start of a trial that he maintains is politically motivated, his lawyer said Thursday.

The government has repeatedly denied Anwar’s claim that the charge was orchestrated to block him from leading a three-party opposition alliance that severely eroded the ruling coalition’s parliamentary majority in the March 2008 election.

Anwar submitted a petition to the High Court on Wednesday that said the case was a conspiracy concocted by his foes in the government, his lawyer Sankara Nair said in a statement.

In his application, Anwar asserted that a medical report dated July 13 last year by a government hospital found no evidence of anal penetration on his accuser.
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Two Malaysian policeman were sentenced to death Thursday for the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, in a sensational case the opposition has tried to link with new premier Najib Razak.

Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib who was sworn in as prime minister last week, had been accused of ordering police to kill his former lover after she came to his family home to harass him for money.

But last year he was acquitted of abetting the 2006 slaying of the 28-year-old model and interpreter — a case which, with its ingredients of sex, politics and violence, has captivated the nation.

Altantuya’s body was blown up with military-grade explosives in a jungle clearing, leaving only shattered bone fragments as evidence.
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Hollywood actor Bruce Willis of “Die Hard” fame is suing Malaysia’s Petra Group and Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar over a “green rubber venture”, Bloomberg news reported today.

The actor is demanding the return of US$900,000 (RM3.2 million) of the US$2 million he invested in the venture.

According to court papers filed in federal court in Los Angeles, California, Petra’s chief executive Datuk Vinod B. Shekhar and Tunku Imran had induced him to invest in a company that was developing a non-toxic and recyclable rubber.

Willis had a put option, whereby for a specified period time he could get a full refund of his investment, according to the complaint. He exercised the option on March 17, Willis said, according to the Bloomberg report.
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Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has won the first battle in his Sodomy II trial.

Today, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge S M Komathy Suppiah ruled the certificate signed by the Attorney-General requesting the case be transferred to the High Court was invalid.

This will give a fillip to Anwar’s fight against the sodomy charge which he has denied and suggested is politically-motivated.

His case will now be heard in the Kuala Lumpur Criminal Sessions Court.

“This case raises a unique situation where it is evident that any involvement by the AG in this case would seriously undermine public confidence in the administration of criminal Read the rest of this entry »

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Sessions court judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah has lifted the media gag on the contents of nine “exhibits” referred to by the defence team in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II hearing.

Yesterday, Judge Komathy had allowed the prosecution’s application to issue a gag order to restrain the media from reporting about Abdul Gani Patail’s alleged involvement as shown in the contents of the exhibits.

Anwar’s lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah had argued before Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah that the three exhibits [two statements of claim respectively filed by Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and the then investigation officer in the 1998 Anwar case Mat Zain Ibrahim and newspaper reports on that incident] had been read out in open court.
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The Sessions Court here on Tuesday ruled that it had the discretion to hear submissions on the defence objection questioning the validity of the certificate produced by the prosecution to transfer Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case to the High Court.

Judge S.M.Komathy Suppiah rejected the preliminary objection by the prosecution which contended that it was mandatory for the Sessions Court, under Section 418A (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, to transfer the case to the High Court once the transfer certificate had been issued by the prosecution.

She made the decision based on four cases, including the corruption case of former Read the rest of this entry »

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The Sodomy II trial of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been postponed yet again, after Sessions Court judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah ordered a two-week recess so she can decide on whether to allow the prosecution’s application to transfer the case to the High Court.

She is set to deliver the decision on October 7.

At the previous hearing on Sept 10, Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Yusof Zainal Abiden, submitted a certificate of transfer to move the Sodomy II trial to the High Court.

Anwar’s defence team, led by Sulaiman Abdullah, objected to the transfer application on several grounds, primarily that the certificate was signed by Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, the Attorney-General (A-G) Read the rest of this entry »

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Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II trial was today postponed to Sept 24 following objections from his defence team over the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s involvement.

The objection was a clear sign of how politics will continue to play a major part in this highly-charged trial, in which Anwar has already accused the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police of being involved in a conspiracy against him.

It also showed Anwar’s legal team would not be prepared to give an inch to the prosecution and was likely to challenge their every move.

Today, S.M. Komathy Suppiah, the Criminal Sessions Court judge presiding over the case, was supposed to set the dates for his trial to begin.
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Eight years and one day shy of his first sodomy conviction, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim again denied another similar accusation today when he was charged for having carnal intercourse against the order of nature at the Sessions Criminal Court 1.

Sessions Court judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah allowed Anwar to be released on a personal bond set at RM20,000 without surety after his defence lawyers pleaded for him to be released on personal bond under Section 388 (ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code while the prosecution argued for bail to be set at RM20,000. The judge set mention of the case for Sept 10.
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