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.