Anwar Ibrahim hospitalized

Anwar Ibrahim hospitalized

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): Malaysia's sacked deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who was jailed for 15 years on corruption and sodomy charges, was admitted to a Kuala Lumpur hospital on Saturday for severe back pain, one of his lawyers said.

Sankaran Nair, who is among Anwar's nine-member defense team, said Anwar was taken from Sungei Buloh prison and admitted to the state- run Kuala Lumpur General Hospital on Saturday morning.

"He was admitted for suspected slipped disc. He's been suffering this persistent pain since October," Nair told Deutsche Presse- Agentur(DPA).

He said he was unable to say how long Anwar would be in hospital, adding that the defense team would seek a postponement of Anwar's appeal to be heard from Monday by the Federal Court.

Malaysia's highest court was to begin hearing Anwar's appeal against a six-year jail term imposed last year after the Kuala Lumpur High Court found him guilty of corruption.

Asked if the court could hear the appeal without Anwar's presence, Nair said it could do so "legally, but we doubt they will go ahead with the hearing".