Court rejects Sukma's appeal

Court rejects Sukma's appeal

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The Malaysian High Court Saturday threw out a plea by the adopted brother of Anwar Ibrahim to overturn a jail sentence imposed for committing homosexual acts with the ousted deputy premier.

Lawyers of Sukma Darmawan Sasmita Atmadja, an Indonesian-born interior designer, had filed a special application for habeas corpus arguing his conviction and six-month jail term were unlawful.

Sukma, 37, and a Pakistani scientist who wrote speeches for Anwar, Munawar Ahmad Anees, 51, both pleaded guilty to allegedly engaging in sodomy with Anwar and were jailed for six months each on Sept. 19.

Muanawar in a similar application last month, which was also rejected, accused the police of dragging his confession out of him through ill-treatment.

Anwar, 51, was arrested shortly after the two men's conviction but has denied charges of sexual misconduct and corruption against him, saying they were politically motivated.

Sukma's lawyers contend the sessions court which sentenced him in September had no jurisdiction over his case because he is a Moslem and should be dealt with by the Islamic Shariah court system.