KUALA LUMPUR,
Nov 12 (Bernama) -- The High Court here was told today that police efforts
to arrest two persons who had accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sexual
misconduct were hampered by non-cooperation from the owner of the house
where they had taken refuge.
Bukit
Aman Police Special Branch officer ACP Mazlan Mohamed Din said he had difficulty
arresting Ummi Hafilda Ali and Azizan Abu Bakar at the house of Dr Ristina
Majid at 56, Jalan Medang Tanduk, Bangsar, on Aug 17 last year.
He was the seventh
witness at the trial of Anwar, 51, the former deputy prime minister, charged
with four counts of committing corrupt practice by using his position to
interfere in police investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct
against him.
Ummi Hafilda had
written a letter accompanied by a sworn statement by Azizan containing
allegations of sexual misconduct against Anwar.
Mazlan told Justice
Datuk S.Augustine Paul that he entered Dr Ristina's house compound at 5.30pm
that day but she refused to let him into the house.
"Dr Ristina refused
to open the house door and instead remained in the master bedroom with
Ummi Hafilda and Azizan. However, she finally agreed to open the door at
about 10pm," he said.
Mazlan said Dr
Ristina then took him to the master bedroom upstairs to get Ummi Hafilda
and Azizan but he could not open the door because the lock was damaged.
Examined by senior
deputy public prosecutor Azahar Mohamad, he said police had to enter the
room through the balcony window and take Ummi Hafilda and Azizan down the
same way.
Ummi Hafilda and
Azizan were then arrested by ASP Zulkifli Mohamed of the Criminal Investigation
Department and handed over to him at 10.30pm, he said.
"I handed Azizan
over to DSP Abdul Aziz Hussin after Special Branch director Datuk Mohamed
Said Awang instructed me to take them back to Bukit Aman.
"When I handed
Azizan over to DSP Aziz, I observed that he was holding a small book (of
Yassin verses). We arrived at Bukit Aman at midnight," he said.
Earlier, Mazlan
said that after ASP Zull Aznam Haron (Anwar's aide-de-camp) lodged a police
report on an anonymous letter on Aug 15, he, Mohamed Said and Special Branch
deputy director II Datuk Amir Junus felt that Ummi and Azizan might be
able to clarify as there were similarities between this letter and Ummi's
letter to the prime minister.
He said police
suspected that Ummi Hafilda and Azizan played a part in writing the anonymous
letter entitled "Talqin Terbuka Untuk Anwar Ibrahim" (Final Rites for Anwar
Ibrahim).
Mohamed Said then
instructed him to arrest the two who had gone into hiding, he said. He
said police intelligence traced them to the house in Bangsar at 3.30pm
on Aug 17 and he reported to Mohamed Said who told him to get the CID to
arrest them.
-- BERNAMA |