Witnesses hint Anwar beating was premeditated

Witnesses hint Anwar beating was premeditated

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Two police officers testified on Wednesday that Malaysia's former police chief ordered jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim handcuffed and blindfolded before beating him the night of his arrest -- evidence the controversial attack may have been premeditated.

Their testimony contradicts that of the police chief, who has said he beat Anwar only after the former deputy prime minister provoked him with insults.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Rodwan Mohamed Yusuf on Wednesday told the panel he saw the police chief, Abdul Rahim Noor, lift his hands to his eyes and give an order while on his way to Anwar's cell.

"I saw Tan Sri Rahim gesture and I interpreted it to mean to blindfold and handcuff," Rodwan said. Tan Sri is a Malaysian title for a government official.

Aziz Abdul Majid, another police superintendent, said he read the hand gesture as "an instruction" to blindfold Anwar.

"Then I saw Tan Sri Rahim wait for a while until he received a signal from someone inside the cell. Then someone from within the lockup gave the thumbs up signal," he said.

Abdul Rahim on Tuesday denied earlier testimony that he had made such a signal, saying there was no reason for Anwar to have been blindfolded. He said his visit to the former deputy prime minister's cell was a "matter of courtesy."

Abdul Rahim on Tuesday told a panel probing the beating that he "lost control" when Anwar, who was handcuffed to the bed of a jail cell, called him "the father of dogs."

Abdul Rahim repeatedly said the attack was neither premeditated nor ordered by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir was home minister at the time and in charge of the police.

Mahathir fired Anwar from government on Sept. 2. Anwar is now on trial for corruption and sex charges, all of which he denies and calls politically motivated.

Anwar was arrested on Sept. 20 after leading a massive anti- government demonstration in Kuala Lumpur. That night he was beaten so severely that doctors later said he could have died.

The blindfold - an orange handkerchief - was tendered as evidence Wednesday, still caked with dried blood.

Anwar's lawyer suggested on Wednesday Malaysian police may have conspired to detain Anwar under the Internal Security Act so that the bruises he received in custody would fade before he came to court.

Lawyer Karpal Singh, asking a public inquiry into the assault for permission to call more witnesses, said it was "very sinister" that Rahim testified that he was not aware of Anwar being arrested under the penal code provision for sodomy.

The trial of Anwar stalled on Wednesday when the government's top lawyer objected to testimony by a prominent lawyer who had crossed swords with two prosecutors.

Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah told the High Court the defense wanted to embarrass the prosecution by calling lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon as a witness.

Manjeet said in a sworn statement in October that two prosecutors in the Anwar trial had tried to extract fabricated evidence from a businessman friend of Anwar to bolster their case against the former cabinet minister.

Mohtar said Manjeet could not reveal privileged details of another court case at Anwar's corruption trial.

Manjeet, a former president of the Bar Council, is counsel for a businessman who was Anwar's tennis partner, Nallakaruppan Solaimalai.

Manjeet had written to Mohtar on Oct. 12 claiming two senior deputy public prosecutors (DPPs) had offered to reduce charges against Nallakaruppan in another case if he testified that Anwar had committed sex crimes with women. The two DPPs are prosecuting Anwar.