Pusrawi report on Saiful not conclusive

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 ― Pusrawi Hospital today confirmed that a preliminary examination was conducted on 23-year-old Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan who had accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him, but insisted that it was not a conclusive medical report.

"Dr Muhammad Osman Abdul Hamid is only a general practitioner at the emergency clinic at Pusrawi Hospital and he's not a specialist," said Pusrawi general manager Wan Mahmood Wan Yaacob.

He said the doctor had advised Saiful to seek treatment with a specialist at the government hospital. "There was no examination done on his sodomy allegation," he told a press conference here this afternoon.

When asked to confirm whether what was stated in the leaked medical report that confirmed Saiful was never been sodomised, Wan Mahmood said, "What is in the report was the doctor's observation. We have yet to verify it; we have already formed an internal investigation committee to confirm whether what was revealed is similar to what we have in possession."

Haji Wan Mahmood Wan Yaacob (right) and Dr Kamaruddin Ahmad (left) at the press conference. ― Picture by Choo Choy May

He added that the internal investigation committee would also investigate how the report was leaked.

However he refused to confirm or deny whether the leaked report was authentic. "It looks the same, but maybe, maybe not," he said.

He also said Dr Muhammad Osman who hails from Myanmar was on leave at the moment until the end of this month and the hospital was unable to contact him.

Pusrawi medical director Dr. Kamaruddin Ahmad who was also present at the press conference said that he last met Dr Muhammad Osman, who started working at Pusrawi since January this year, two weeks ago to discuss the medical report on Saiful.

"He confirmed that he wrote the report, and that he had examined Saiful," added Dr Kamaruddin.

He also said that the police had taken a statement from Dr Muhammad Osman and they were polite in their investigation.

He explained that Saiful came to the hospital to seek treatment for pain in the anus. "Maybe after the examination, he complained of sodomy," he said when asked why the doctor wrote TRO (to rule out) sodomy in the leaked report.

Saiful's lawyer, Zamri Idrus speaking to reporters. ― Picture by Choo Choy May

Meanwhile, Saiful today issued a statement read by his lawyer Zamri Idrus, saying he was eagerly waiting for the police to complete the investigation on his report and to bring the individual involved to justice.

Saiful also said there was no reason for him to falsely accuse Anwar.

When asked further, Zamri declined to comment on any issues including the leaked medical report.

-TMI

Hospital and doctor may be hauled up over leaked report

KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's leaked medical report could see the doctor and the hospital hauled up for professional misconduct.

Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid, a Myanmar national, will face disciplinary action under the Medical Act 1971 if investigations revealed that he was responsible for the leak.

His employer, Hospital Pusrawi Sdn Bhd, could also find itself in trouble for breach of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.

The doctor can be reprimanded, suspended or even deregistered while the hospital can be fined and may have its licence revoked.

Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said no medical record should be made public without the consent of the patient.
"Medical records or patient information should be strictly confidential," Dr Ismail said.

Over the last two years, the Malaysian Medical Council had suspended two doctors for divulging patients' information to third parties.

Mohd Saiful was said to have gone to two different hospitals on June 28, the day he lodged a report alleging that he was sodomised by his former boss, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Mohd Saiful's first visit on that day was to Hospital Pusrawi in Jalan Tun Razak at 2pm, where he complained of "tenesmus", a medical term for difficulty in passing motion.

He was examined by Dr Mohamed Osman , the medical officer on duty, who allegedly advised him to seek further treatment at a government hospital.

Mohd Saiful then went to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) for a complete examination.

Reports of the medical examination conducted at Hospital Pusrawi, complete with diagrams, were published in two online news websites on Monday.

Dr Ismail said: "We will contact the hospital on the authenticity of the medical record which was published."

Dr Ismail declined to elaborate on Dr Mohamed Osman's findings, but stressed that the Health Ministry would stand by the results of the examination conducted at the KLH.

Dr Mohamed Osman, in the leaked report, allegedly found "zero active bleeding", "zero ulcer or pus", "zero tear and scar" in Mohd Saiful's anus.

The report "advised" Mohd Saiful to go to a government hospital so as "to rule out" assault and sodomy.

The findings of KLH, however, have not been revealed as investigations into the sodomy allegation are still on.

-NST Online

Malaysia Anwar fights sodomy claim with doctor report

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Reuters) - Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim produced a report by a private doctor on Tuesday that he said showed his accuser had not been sodomised, as he battles a criminal case in his drive to unseat the government.

The former deputy premier turned de facto opposition leader is facing criminal investigations that he had homosexual sex with a former aide last month, in what he says is a trumped-up allegation aimed at scuttling the opposition's rise to power.

A copy of a report, said to be by the doctor who examined the alleged victim the same day he filed a police report against Anwar, was earlier published by a prominent blogger.

Anwar said the medical findings showed "the allegations levelled against me are baseless and politically motivated, and that the complainant is an outright liar working hand in glove with those in power to assassinate my character".

"This report makes a mockery of the so-called impartial police investigation, and clearly shows the dubious and persistent attempts to incriminate me by whatever means employable," Anwar told reporters.

GOVERNMENT REJECTS REPORT

But the Health Ministry, in an immediate rebuff to Anwar, said it would only stand by a medical report signed by a government doctor, not a private one. The contents will not be disclosed, it added.

"No one should speculate or draw conclusions or make assumptions as to the result of the medical examination," the online edition of The Star newspaper on Tuesday quoted Director-General of Health Ismail Merican as saying.

Ismail said the ministry would ask the private hospital to verify the report and explain how it had been made public.

Sodomy is a crime punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment in mostly Muslim Malaysia.

Anwar said the doctor who produced the report has gone on leave, citing hospital authorities. Neither the doctor nor his hospital have confirmed that the report was genuine.

Anwar said he was worried about the safety of the doctor, whom police said had not been arrested.

"Reports that he and his family may be in danger must not be taken lightly, given earlier instances when key witnesses in high-profile cases in Malaysia have been threatened, coerced or gone missing."

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told Reuters on Monday the authorities should finish investigations into Anwar as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary rumours.

The Anwar political melodrama and other scandals containing salacious details of sex, murder and cover-ups involving the government and opposition have wearied investors and sullied the image of one of East Asia's fast-growing emerging economies.

The authorities have not pressed charges against Anwar, but some analysts think the problem could turn an already loose opposition alliance into a rudderless ship.

"It has impacted him as it takes much of his energy... fighting off this sodomy charge," said Lee Hock Guan, senior fellow with Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies.

The opposition alliance needs just 30 more seats to win a simple majority and form the government.

Anwar's People's Justice Party had earlier said he was making plans to run for parliament in either Kulim Bandar Baharu in northern Kedah state or Bandar Tun Razak in the capital.

The Kulim seat was won by a member of Anwar's party in the March election but the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party wants the court to disqualify him on the grounds that he did not submit his account of expenditure after the last poll in 2004, People's Justice Party spokesman Tian Chua said. The court will hear the case on Aug 19.

Anwar was barred from running for public office until this April because of a conviction for corruption. He was sacked by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 and jailed on what he says were fabricated charges of corruption and sodomy.