02 August 2008

Some viewpoints on Anwar's sodomy case

I'm not in the medical profession so I don't claim to be an expert … but we can at least attempt to learn and have a good look at the processes involved.

Uncle Pet mentioned something in the malaysiakini video that can be loosely translated as '… But Pusrawi cannot do the forensics. Anyway those were just notes and not a report'

Ok-lah Uncle Pet, you have a point…. But why go there in the first place?

"Sexual assault includes a wide range of victimizations, distinct from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include completed or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between the victim and offender."

-RAINN

Saiful made a police report on 28th June (6pm), claiming that he was sexually assaulted by means of buggery:

"Saya Mohd Saiful Bukhari b Azlan ingin melaporkan bahawa saya telah diliwat oleh majikan saya. Perkara ini berlaku tanpa kerelaan saya. Kejadian terakhir berlaku 26/6/08 di Unit 1151, Kondominium Desa Damansara, Jln Setia Kasih, KL. Oleh itu, tujuan laporan ini dibuat untuk mendapat pembelaan dan keadilan keatas diri saya. Saya juga berasa bimbang dengan keselamatan diri dan keluarga saya jika perkara ini tersebar luas di khalayak ramai. Majikan saya Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim - Ketua Umum PKR."

And Malaysiakini reported:

"Saiful, who had accused Anwar of sodomising him, had gone to Pusrawi Hospital on June 28 complaining of pain in passing motion four hours before the 23-year-old lodged a police report against the PKR leader. He said he had been experiencing pain for a week and had alleged that he was assaulted by a piece of plastic being forcibly inserted into his anus."

We'll revisit the above later in the article.

Unable to locate the protocols concerning the handling of sexual assault cases by medical personnel in Malaysia. But knowing that Malaysians love to 'tiru' and 'ciplak', I had a good read on the subject matter from the following documents.

Download (US Department of Justice. National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations)

141 pages is a lot, so here's a shorter digested version:

The initial evaluation of the patient begins with a medical and assault history. Careful attention should be paid to any areas of injury the patient describes to the examiner to facilitate the collection of potential evidence. Questions asked should be very basic, focusing only on aspects of the event that will assist the examiner in understanding where there may be significant physical exam findings.

In addition to the interview, the examiner should assess the patient for signs or symptoms of depression and/or thoughts of suicide. It is normal for sexual assault victims to display a wide range of emotions, from stoic to hysterical. If the patient exhibits any indication of harming themselves or expresses thoughts of suicide, he or she should be placed directly in the care of mental health services after the examination is complete. Survivors of sexual assault are at risk for suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.

Evidentiary examination is performed after the interview is completed. All physical injuries should be documented. Photographic evidence and forensic evidence swabs are collected following specific protocols. The examiner should note the location of any existing injuries, and observe for the presence of tears (and/or tenderness), redness, abrasions, contusions, and/or swelling (TRACS), which are indicative of blunt force trauma. Many sexual assault exams yield little to no forensic evidence. However, when injury is visible, photographic documentation of both non-genital and genital trauma is needed. Examiners must be sure to obtain written consent from the patient to photograph her or his injuries. If there are any limitations to obtaining a photograph, then the examiner needs to be sure to note this on the sexual assault examination form, which will be either located within the sexual assault examination kit or provided by the workplace.

The colposcope is a tool that can be used to detect and magnify genital or rectal injury that may be related to a sexual assault case. The colposcope increases the examiner's ability to both assess and document genital injuries. Toluidine blue dye (1% aqueous solution) is a blue dye that stains the nucleus of freshly exposed epidermal cells and enhances the visualization of minor tissue trauma when applied to the posterior fourchette as well as external genital tissue and/or the external skin of the anus. Only the area of injury will have a persistent blue color. Photographs are then taken of the areas highlighted by the blue dye

From the medical 'notes', these are the Pusrawi authorities claim are 'non-sodomy related':

  • No blood was seen per rectal.
  • No blood in the stool when stool is passed.
  • Per rectal examination: no bleeding from rectum, no wound or evidence of infection, no injury seen, no tear of the rectal/anal area
  • Final diagnosis: TRO (to rule out) assault (sodomise)',"

Mmm imagine the disappointment on Saiful's face, the plastic dildo or whatever it was, didn't have the desired effect. Dr. Osman in the report states that no signs of TRACS (tears, redness, abrasions, contusions and swelling) were detected. A friend commented that Anwar's 'anu' must have been the size of a 'lidi'.

I could only speculate that the good doctor then explained that a more detailed examination can be done; he doesn't have the necessary equipment and recommended HKL (OSCC) as they can go microscopic on him.

Let's just stop there. What weed is this guy on? Now, a plastic thingy was shoved up his ass and then later in the evening, he cried Anwar buggered him?

"Buggery is a lay term used to refer to penile penetration of the anus (anal intercourse) of a man, a woman, or an animal (also known as bestiality). Sodomy relates to anal intercourse between humans only."

There cannot even be a charge of sodomy!

He claimed that he was sodomised a day before (26th, Thursday). Najib admitted that he met Saiful a few days prior while Anwar was performing the Umrah and Talks. Anwar only came back to Malaysia on Wednesday (25th) which leaves Thursday (26th) for the alleged incident to happen.

Tsk tsk Saiful, you knew that you were going to be buggered on the 26th … with Najib's influence, ties and access to the buggers in Special Branch; you could have done and planned better to frame and setup someone for a fall. You could have at least to ask Uncle Pet to hide behind the curtains and videotape the whole thing.

Your story/fairy tale has more holes that Swiss cheese, dude. Give it up.

Let's leave with the following snippets from the Clinical Forensic Medicine: A Physician's Guide (2005), Chapter 3. Sexual Assault Examination. Source

"The most frequent injuries that are documented after allegations of nonconsensual anal penetration are anal fissures, tears, and lacerations."

"Whether an injury heals by first or secondary intention, the latter resulting in scar formation, depends on several factors, including the width and depth of the breach in the epithelium."

"The only specific indicator of abuse is a fresh laceration or healed scar extending beyond the anal margin onto the perianal skin in the absence of reasonable alternative explanation, e.g., major trauma" (173).

"The forensic practitioner may be asked about the effects that a single episode or repeated episodes of anal penetration have on anal sphincter tone and subsequent continence of feces. There is a case report of "multiple ruptures" of the internal anal sphincter with resultant fecal incontinence after nonconsensual anal penetration with a penis and fist (189)."

"However, various other substances have been used to facilitate penetration during a sexual assault, including hand cream, cooking oil, and margarine, the diversity of the products apparently reflecting what is immediately at hand. Many factors may affect the length of time that a lubricant will persist on skin or in a body orifice. Condom lubricant has been detected on a swab taken from an unwashed penis 50 hours after intercourse and, in a different case, on a vaginal swab (also when the complainant had not washed or douched) taken 24 hours after intercourse, but detection after such prolonged periods would appear to be exceptional (Black, R., personal communication, 2002); water-based lubricants (e.g., those containing polyethylene glycol) have only been detected within 8 hours of the sexual act (193,195)."

"The other anal injuries that have been described in complainants of anal penetration are bruises (2–4%), abrasions (4–5%), erythema (2–8%), and swelling/edema (2–6%) (90,134)."

Read the report again HERE. This government has already made a mockery of the judiciary; the public have little trust in the police … and now the medical community is being screwed too?

… someone in the Corridors of Power must have said 'Why not?'

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