DALAM MAHKAMAH TINGGI KUALA LUMPUR

WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN PERBICARAAN JENAYAH NO: 45-48-98 DAN 45-49-98

( DALAM MAHKAMAH SESYEN KUALA LUMPUR

KES TANGKAP NO: 62-142-98 DAN 62-143-98)
 
 
 
 

BETWEEN

PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

AND

DATO’ SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM (No. 3)
 
 
 
 

Coram
Y.A. DATUK AUGUSTINE PAUL

Judge

High Court of Malaya

Kuala Lumpur
 
 

GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT

Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim (hereafter referred to as "the accused"), the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Malaysia was produced before me on 5 October 1998 charged with five counts of sodomy under section 377B of the Penal Code and five counts of corrupt practices under Section 2(1) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22 of 1970 (hereafter referred to as "Ordinance No. 22"). He claimed trial to all ten charges. The prosecution applied for four charges under Section 2(1) of Ordinance No. 22 to be tried together pursuant to Section 165 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Defence did not object. I allowed the application. The four charges as originally framed read as follows :

Bahawa kamu Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim dituduh atas arahan Pendakwa Raya dan pertuduhan-pertuduhan ke atas kamu adalah seperti berikut :

PERTUDUHAN PERTAMA

Bahawa kamu, dari 12 haribulan Ogos 1997 hingga 18 haribulan Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah :- mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia memperolehi pengakuan bertulis daripada Azizan bin Abu Bakar bagi menafikan salah laku seks dan liwat yang dilakukan oleh kamu dengan tujuan melindungi diri kamu daripada sebarang tindakan atau prosiding yang bersifat jenayah, dan akibatnya Azizan bin Abu Bakar telah memberi pengakuan bertulis bertarikh 18hb Ogos 1997 kepada Perdana Menteri sepertimana yang diarahkan, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan No. 22 (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) Dharurat, 1970. PERTUDUHAN KEDUA Bahawa kamu, pada 27 haribulan Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah :- mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia menggesa Azizan bin Abu Bakar supaya memberi kenyataan umum bertulis bagi menafikan salah laku seks dan liwat yang dilakukan oleh kamu dengan tujuan melindungi diri kamu daripada sebarang tindakan atau prosiding yang bersifat jenayah dan akibatnya Azizan bin Abu Bakar telah memberikan kenyataan umum bertulis seperti mana yang diarahkan, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan No. 22 (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) Dharurat, 1970. PERTUDUHAN KETIGA Bahawa kamu pada 12 haribulan Ogos 1997 hingga 18 haribulan Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah :- mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia memperolehi pengakuan bertulis daripada Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali bagi menafikan salah laku seks dan liwat yang dilakukan oleh kamu dengan tujuan melindungi diri kamu daripada sebarang tindakan atau prosiding bersifat jenayah dan akibatnya Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali telah memberi pengakuan bertulis bertarikh 18hb Ogos 1997 kepada Perdana Menteri sepertimana yang diarahkan, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan No. 22 (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) Dharurat, 1970. PERTUDUHAN KEEMPAT Bahawa kamu pada 27 haribulan Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah :- mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia menggesa Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali supaya memberi kenyataan umum bertulis bagi menafikan salah laku seks dan liwat yang dilakukan oleh kamu dengan tujuan melindungi diri kamu daripada sebarang tindakan atau prosiding bersifat jenayah dan akibatnya Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali telah memberikan kenyataan umum bertulis bertarikh 29 haribulan Ogos 1997 seperti mana yang diarahkan, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan No. 22 (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) Dharurat, 1970. (English translation of the charges)
 
  That you, Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim are charged at the instance of the Public Prosecutor, and the charges against you are as follows :

First Charge

That you, between the 12 August 1997 and 18 August 1997 at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance committed corrupt practice whereby you had :- directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Special Branch Director and Amir bin Junus, Special Branch Deputy Director II, Royal Malaysian Police to obtain a written admission from Azizan bin Abu Bakar to deny sexual misconduct and sodomy committed by you for the purpose of protecting yourself against any criminal action or proceedings, and as a result of which Azizan bin Abu Bakar had thereby made a written admission dated 18 August 1997 to the Prime Minister as directed, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1), Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22, 1970. Second Charge That you, on or about the 27 August 1997, at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance committed corrupt practice whereby you had :- directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Special Branch Director and Amir bin Junus, Special Branch Deputy Director II, Royal Malaysian Police to urge Azizan bin Abu Bakar to give a written public statement to deny sexual misconduct and sodomy committed by you for the purpose of protecting yourself against any criminal action or proceedings and as a result of which Azizan bin Abu Bakar had thereby given a written public statement as directed, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1), Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22, 1970. Third Charge That you, between the 12 August 1997 and 18 August 1997, at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance committed corrupt practice whereby you had :- directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Special Branch Director and Amir bin Junus, Special Branch Deputy Director II, Royal Malaysian Police to obtain a written admission from Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali to deny sexual misconduct and sodomy committed by you for the purpose of protecting yourself against any criminal action or proceedings, and as a result of which Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali had thereby made a written admission dated 18 August 1997 to the Prime Minister as directed, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1), Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22, 1970. Fourth Charge That you, on or about the 27 August 1997, at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance committed corrupt practice whereby you had :- directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Special Branch Director and Amir bin Junus, Special Branch Deputy Director II, Royal Malaysian Police to urge Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali to give a written public statement to deny sexual misconduct and sodomy committed by you for the purpose of protecting yourself against any criminal action or proceedings and as a result of which Ummi Hafilda bt. Ali had thereby given a written public statement dated 29 August 1997 as directed, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 2(1) Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22, 1970. On 13 January 1999 the prosecution applied for leave to amend all four charges at the close of its case. It must be observed that the original charges relate to abuse of power under Section 2(1) of Ordinance No. 22. The references in the charges to sexual misconduct and sodomy "committed" by the accused relate to another offence. This does not accord with Section 163 of the Criminal Procedure Code which provides that for every distinct offence of which any person is accused there shall be a seperate charge. In order to avoid the duplicity in the charges I allowed the application to amend them. The four charges as amended read as follows: PERTUDUHAN PERTAMA Bahawa kamu, dari 12 Ogos 1997 hingga 18 Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan dan dalam kapasiti tersebut telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah, mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia memperolehi kenyataan bertulis daripada Azizan bin Abu Bakar yang dialamatkan keapda YAB Perdana Menteri, bagi menafikan dakwaan liwat seperti yang terkandung di dalam "Pengakuan Bersumpahnya" bertarikh 5 Ogos 1997, yang mana mereka telah perolehi seperti yang diarahkan, dalam bentuk satu kenyataan bertulis bertarikh 18 Ogos 1997, untuk faedah diri kamu, bagi menyelamatkan diri kamu daripada keaiban, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan Dharurat (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) No. 22/1970. PERTUDUHAN KEDUA Bahawa kamu, pada 27 Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan dan dalam kapasiti tersebut telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah, mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia memperolehi kenyataan bertulis daripada Azizan bin Abu Bakar bagi menafikan dakwaan liwat seperti yang terkandung di dalam "Pengakuan Bersumpahnya" bertarikh 5 Ogos 1997, yang mana mereka telah perolehi seperti yang diarahkan, dalam bentuk satu kenyataan umum bertulis, untuk faedah diri kamu sendiri di mana kamu telah menggunakannya bagi tujuan melindungi diri kamu daripada sebarang tindakan jenayah, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan Dharurat (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) No. 22/1970. PERTUDUHAN KETIGA Bahawa kamu pada 12 Ogos 1997 hingga 18 Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan dan dalam kapasiti tersebut telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah, mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia memperolehi kenyataan bertulis daripada Ummi Hafilda bt Ali yang dialamatkan kepada YAB Perdana Menteri, bagi menafikan dakwaan salah laku seks dan liwat seperti yang terkandung di dalam laporan sulitnya bertajuk "Perihal Salah Laku Timbalan Perdana Menteri" bertarikh 5 Ogos 1997, yang mana mereka telah perolehi seperti yang diarahkan, dalam bentuk satu kenyataan bertulis bertarikh 18 Ogos 1997, untuk faedah diri kamu, iaitu, bagi menyelamatkan diri kamu daripada keaiban, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan Dharurat (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) No. 22/1970. PERTUDUHAN KEEMPAT Bahawa kamu pada 27 Ogos 1997, di Kediaman Rasmi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, No. 47, Jalan Damansara, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, semasa menjadi seorang anggota pentadbiran, iaitu, menjawat jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan dan dalam kapasiti tersebut telah melakukan perbuatan rasuah di mana kamu telah, mengarahkan Dato’ Mohd Said bin Awang, Pengarah Cawangan Khas dan Amir bin Junus, Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas II, Polis Di Raja Malaysia memperolehi kenyataan bertulis daripada Ummi Hafilda bt Ali bagi menafikan dakwaan salah laku seks dan liwat seperti yang terkandung di dalam laporan sulitnya bertajuk "Perihal Salah Laku Timbalan Perdana Menteri" bertarikh 5 Ogos 1997, yang mana mereka telah perolehi seperti yang diarahkan dalam bentuk satu kenyataan umum bertulis bertarikh 29 Ogos 1997, untuk faedah diri kamu sendiri di mana kamu telah menggunkannya bagi tujuan melindungi diri kamu daripada sebarang tindakan jenayah, dan oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah seksyen 2(1) Ordinan Dharurat (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) No. 22/1970. (English translation of the charges)

First Charge

That you, from 12 August 1997 until 18 August 1997 at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and in such capacity committed corrupt practice in that you, directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Director of the Special Branch and Amir bin Junus, Deputy Director II of the Special Banch, Royal Malaysian Police, to obtain a written statement from Azizan bin Abu Bakar addressed to YAB Prime Minister denying his allegation of sodomy as contained in his "Pengakuan Bersumpah" dated 5 August 1997, which they obtained as directed, in the form of a written statement dated 18 August 1997, for your advantage, to wit, to save yourself from embarrassment, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1), Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22/1970. Second Charge That you, on 27 August 1997 at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and in such capacity committed corrupt practice in that you, directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Director of the Special Branch and Amir bin Junus, Deputy Director II of the Special Branch, Royal Malaysian Police, to obtain a written statement from Azizan bin Abu Bakar to deny the allegation of sodomy as contained in his "Pengakuan Bersumpah" dated 5 August 1997, which they obtained as directed, in the form of a Kenyataan Umum, for your advantage, to wit, you used it for the purpose of protecting yourself from any criminal action, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1), Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22/1970. Third Charge That you, from 12 August 1997 until 18 August 1997 at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and in such capacity committed corrupt practice in that you, directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Director of the Special Branch and Amir bin Junus, Deputy Director II of the Sepcial Branch, Royal Malayian Police, to obtain a written statement from Ummi Hafilda bt Ali addressed to YAB Prime Minister denying the allegations of sexual misconduct and sodomy as contained in her confidential report entitled "Perihal Salah Laku Timbalan Perdana Menteri" dated 5 August 1997, which they obtained as directed, in the form of a written statement dated 18 August 1997, for your advantage, to wit, to save yourself from embarrassment, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1), Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22/1970. Fourth Charge That you, on 27 August 1997 at the Official Residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, No. 47, Damansara Road, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while being a Member of the administration, to wit, holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and in such capacity committed corrupt practice in that you, directed Dato’ Mohd. Said bin Awang, Director of the Special Branch and Amir bin Junus, Deputy Director II of the Special Branch, Royal Malaysian Police, to obtain written statements from Ummi Hafilda bt Ali denying the allegations of sexual misconduct and sodomy as contained in her confidential report entitled "Perihal Salah Laku Timbalan Perdana Menteri" dated 5 August 1997, which they obtained as directed, in the form of a Kenyataan Umum dated 29 August 1997, for your advantage, to wit, you used it for the purpose of protecting yourself from any criminal action, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1), Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 22/1970. The accused claimed trial to the amended charges and did not wish to re-call any of the prosecution witnesses. Having listened to the submission of both parties and before calling upon the accused to enter his defence I made a formal amendment to the English version of the second and fourth charges and the addition of words to the first and third charges to specify that the written statements were obtained as directed. The accused was given the opportunity to plead to the latter two charges to which he claimed trial.

I pause for a while to say that after the charges were amended I ruled that the truth or falsity of the allegations referred to in the charges is not relevant and accordingly expunged from the record all evidence relating to such matters. I made the ruling as the amended charges only refer to directions given by the accused to Dato Mohd Said and Dato Amir Junus to obtain statements from Ummi and Azizan to deny allegations of sexual misconduct and sodomy made by them against him and the advantage obtained therefrom. It will therefore be seen that the charges refer, inter alia, to only allegations made by Ummi and Azizan against the accused. The word "allegation" is defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary 3rd Ed as, inter alia, "… an assertion made without proof …" It is clear that an asertion made without proof may or may not be capable of proof. Thus an allegation need not be true. This makes it manifestly patent that the onus of proof on the prosecution is the same whether the allegations are true or false. What requires proof is only the fact that the allegations in question were made. The corollary is that the truth or falsity of the allegations is not a fact in issue. Thus no evidence can be led to establish that the allegations are true or false pursuant to Section 5 of the Evidence Act 1950 unless declared to be relevant by the said Act. Such evidence is not admissible under Section 7 of the said Act as causative facts as it does not relate to a fact in issue; nor is it admissible to show motive under Section 8 of the said Act as it does not relate to a fact in issue; nor as explanatory or introductory facts under Section 9 of the said Act as it does not relate to a fact in issue. Consequently, proof that the allegations are false does not in any way lend weight to the defence of the accused and is therefore irrelevant. Accordingly, the onus on the prosecution is only to prove that Ummi and Azizan made the allegations and that the accused, while being a Member of the administration, and in such capacity, directed Dato Mohd Said and Dato Amir Junus to obtain the denial letters with regard to the allegations and the advantage he obtained therefrom.

In the circumstances the retention of the evidence adduced by the prosecution to show the truth of the allegations is highly prejudicial to the accused on the principle laid down in the celebrated case of Makin v Attorney General for New South Wales (1894) AC 57 where Lord Herschell said at p 65,

"It is undoubtedly not competent for the prosecution to adduce evidence tending to show that the accused has been guilty of criminal acts other than those covered by the indictment, for the purpose of leading to the conclusion that the accused is a person, likely from his criminal conduct or character to have committed the offence for which he is being tried." It is prejudicial to the accused for two reasons. Firstly, when an accused is called upon to answer a charge he is entitled to have to meet only relevant and admissible evidence. Secondly, the existence of such evidence on the record to show that the allegations could be true may tend to suggest the inference that the accused wanted them to be retracted. In order to ensure that this does not have a prejudicial effect in the mind of the person hearing the case it must be disregarded (see Mohamad Kassan bin Hassan v PP (1950) MLJ 295). It was for that purpose that I had to take a drastic step to guarantee that my mind is not moved in any manner whatsoever to the detriment of the accused. A High Court has inherent power to make any order for the purpose of securing the ends of justice. This extends to expunction or ordering expunction of irrelevant matters (see Dr Raghubir Saran v State of Bihar AIR 1964 SC 1). Therefore, with the sole objective of ensuring that the accused is not prejudiced in any way by the presence of such evidence on the record I ordered that it be expunged. I interpolate to add that I adhered strictly to the rationale behind the expunction of the irrelevant evidence throughout the trial. But, unfortunately, the parties, more so the Defence, were not like-minded. Therefore, when both parties attempted to touch on the truth or falsity of the allegations in the course of their submissions at the end of the case for the prosecution I found it absolutely necessary to issue the following direction when I called upon the accused to enter his defence: "I find it necessary and desirable to say a few words to guide the conduct of the case hereafter in view of the fact that counsel on both sides had touched upon the truth of the allegations in the four amended charges. It is to be noted that the amended charges merely refer to allegations of sodomy and sexual misconduct and not to the actual commission of sodomy or sexual misconduct by the accused. The truth or falsity of the allegations are therefore not in issue in this trial. Any evidence or argument that has or is to be directed upon that matter is therefore irrelevant and inadmissible. Accordingly, the evidence that is proposed to be elicited to meet the prima facie case established by the prosecution must be confined only to the issues raised in the amended charges." Further attempts by the Defence to go into this issue in the course of the trial were met with rigid sanctions from me.

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