Anwar associate gets jail term

Anwar associate gets jail term

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): An associate of deposed Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was jailed on Wednesday for 42 months for unlawful possession of bullets after changing his plea to guilty.

Businessman Solaimalai Nallakaruppan, better known as Nalla, who is a tennis partner of Anwar, was initially charged under the draconian Internal Security Act which carries a mandatory death sentence.

But the prosecution on Wednesday reduced the charge to the Firearms Act 1960, which provides for a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine not exceeding 10,000 ringgit (US$2,632), or both.

Chief prosecutor Zulkifli Bakar told the court the charge was amended because Nalla no longer posed a threat to national security and he cooperated with the police, the Bernama news agency reported. Police found 125 live bullets last July during a raid on Nalla's home as part of a probe into allegations of sexual misconduct by Anwar.