Anwar's sodomy trial to resume TuesdayKUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 (AFP) - Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial will resume Tuesday, a defence lawyer said from the hospital where the jailed former Malaysian deputy premier has undergone tests for alleged arsenic poisoning.Christopher Fernando said Monday Anwar had told him the level of arsenic in his body was now within acceptable limits but added that this "doesn't mean he has not been poisoned (in the past)." The hospital is expected to release its report on Anwar's health to the court on Tuesday, he told reporters, adding he did not expect his client to be discharged from hospital Monday. Deputy premier and home (interior) minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Sunday tests so far showed Anwar had not been poisoned. He said the claims were a pre-election ploy by Anwar, whose wife has formed an opposition party. Abdullah said he was awaiting a full report from the hospital and the police inquiry into the alleged poisoning was expected to finish over the next two to three days. The trial was adjourned September 10 after lawyers for Anwar, who is already serving a six-year term for abusing his power, alleged that high levels of arsenic had been found in his body, indicating a possible murder attempt. The court ordered a medical examination and tests. Anwar returned to court Monday last week but the trial was again postponed Tuesday after doctors said he was suffering from "tension headaches." Anwar's wife Wan Azizah was not available for comment Monday. The Malay-language Utusan Malaysia newspaper quoted her as saying she would accept the hospital test results but this did not mean her husband had not been poisoned in the past. Azizah said she still accepted an earlier report on Anwar's urine sample, tested under an assumed name in Australia and said to show high levels of arsenic. In a separate interview with the opposition newspaper Harakah, Azizah rejected the police inquiry and pressed for an independent probe. "He is now improving but I remain deeply concerned about my husband's health. His blood pressure has yet to be stabilised. He had a headache for most of last week," she said. "Anwar feels slightly weak. Most of all, it is the probable long-term effects of arsenic that worries me. Nobody knows what it will lead to." Azizah said the truth about the arsenic claims would never be known until an independent inquiry involving "medical experts, legal luminaries and other competent people" was formed. To ensure his safety, she said Anwar should not be sent back to prison but be granted bail after his health is restored until the independent inquiry reported its findings. Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang backed Azizah's call for an independent probe, saying in a statement Monday it was necessary to allay concerns about his health and safety. "The tragedy today is that the government's credibility gap has become so vast, less and less Malaysians believe it is incapable of misleading the people whether with falsehoods or downright lies," he said. Sacked and arrested in September last year, Anwar was jailed in April. He says he is the victim of a top-level political conspiracy. |
