Anwar accuses police chief of beating him

Anwar accuses police chief of beating him

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim accused former police chief Abdul Rahim Noor on Tuesday of beating him unconscious on the night of his arrest last year.

Anwar also told a royal commission of inquiry he was later thrown in a "dungeon" in a secret police hideout where he languished without medical treatment for "several nights."

The dramatic testimony came on the second day of the inquiry into Anwar's injuries in detention, called after an internal probe found that Anwar was assaulted by unidentified police.

Rahim quit after the results of the probe were announced last month and is expected to appear at the inquiry, which is running concurrently with Anwar's trial on four corruption charges.

Anwar recalled how commandos with balaclavas broke down the door of his house and stormed a news conference to arrest him shortly after evening prayers on the night of Sept. 20.

Upon his arrival at the federal police headquarters, Anwar said he was blindfolded, seated on a cement slab and handcuffed from behind.

"I was seated quietly, praying to God. I heard footsteps coming into the cell. I stood up. In a matter of seconds, there was a strong hard punch which landed above my left eye and my left forehead. One strong hard punch.

"I fell backwards on the cement slab. Someone grabbed my hand, my right upper arm, then I was hit again -- a heavy blow on the top right of my head. Then left, a lot of blows and a karate chop of the left side of my neck.

"Then left, right and hard strong slaps. The left slaps more towards the ear, right towards the front side of the face and close to the mouth," he said.

"It happened suddenly and ended abruptly," Anwar said, adding he could "hear and sense as if someone was being pushed or pulled away."

"From the footsteps, I was quite certain there was at least two people inside the cell," Anwar said. "I heard one clearing his throat. It sounded familiar," he added. "Crooks sometimes leave traces."

Anwar, who appeared in court with a black eye in late September, said he was "absolutely certain one person assaulted me" and that he was "equally certain there was another person beside him" at the time.

"I did not see but am certain I can identify the clearing of the throat. You see him on TV. You meet him all the time. I knew it was Tan Sri Rahim Noor," Anwar said. "Immediately before the assault, I knew the clearing of the throat was Tan Sri Rahim Noor."

Asked if he was certain, he said: "There is a possibility of a mistake. But certainty is there. I'm quite confident of saying it with a clear conscience."

Investigating panel member Yeoh Poh Hong, an orthopedic surgeon, later asked Anwar if he asked anyone if they were aware of the identity of his attacker.

"Yes. After the second day, when I was a bit more conscious, some policemen cried. Some apologized. They mentioned the name of Tan Sri Rahim Noor," he said, adding that he was also told that criminal investigation chief Yaacob Mohamed Amin and his deputy Ramli Yusof were also present for the assault.

On Monday, a police officer testified that Rahim and Yaacob entered the area where Anwar was taken on the night of his arrest.

"I heard a groan coming from the direction of the lock-up. Shortly after that, Rahim and Yaacob walked past me. They did not say anything," said Koh Hong San, the officer who served the arrest warrant on Anwar.

During Tuesday's hearing, Anwar also said he was transferred from police headquarters on Sept. 24 to a secret police hideout where he was examined by a doctor and given medication for the first time since being assaulted.