Jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's date with the High Court tomorrow in relation to the remaining five criminal charges he faces has been postponed to May 12 due to his ill health, his lawyer said today.

Sankara Nair told malaysiakini that the cases have been taken off the court list following an application for adjournment by the prosecution.

"The prosecution sought a two-week postponement after the Kuala Lumpur Hospital informed them that Anwar was unfit to attend the hearing," said Sankara.

Anwar has been undergoing treatment at the hospital since Nov 25 for his spinal injury.

The court was to have heard tomorrow the five outstanding charges against Anwar - four counts of sodomy and one corruption charge - and decide on whether to proceed with the cases.

Previous convictions

Sankara had earlier said that the court tomorrow could either fix a trial date, dismiss the charges or set another date for mention.

Anwar is already serving a 15-year jail term after being convicted on separate charges of corruption and sodomy.

He was sacked by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Sept 2, 1998, on grounds of immorality and was arrested 18 days later under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after leading mass anti-government protests.

He was then charged with five counts of corruption and five sodomy offences. In April 1999, he was convicted of four counts of corruption and jailed for six years. The Appellate Court later rejected his appeal; a further appeal to the Federal Court is pending.

In August last year, Anwar was sentenced to nine years in jail after being found guilty of committing sodomy.

Both sentences are running concurrently.

Stop investigations

On the remaining corruption charge, Anwar is alleged to have committed a corrupt practice in relation to an Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigation against his former private secretary Mohd Azmin Ali. Anwar is alleged to have urged the then ACA chief to close the investigations.

On the sodomy charges, Anwar is alleged to have sodomised his former speech writer Dr Munawar Ahmad Anees, his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, fashion designer Mior Abdul Razak Yahya and Hairany Mohd Naffis between December 1992 and May 1995.

The corruption charge, under the 1970 Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No 22, carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail or a fine up to RM20,000 or both if found guilty.

The sodomy charges, under section 377B of the Penal Code, carry a maximum sentence of 20 years' jail and whipping for each charge.

Ex-police chief's appeal on Monday

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal will hear on Monday former police chief Abdul Rahim Noor's appeal against his two-month jail sentence over Anwar Ibrahim's 'black eye' incident in 1998.

On March 15 last year, Rahim was sentenced by the Sessions Court to two months' jail plus a fine of RM2,000 after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Anwar at about 10.45pm on Sept 20, 1998 at the police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

However, following cross appeal by both Rahim and the prosecution, the High Court last December upheld the sentencing upon Rahim's appeal but quashed the fine.

Rahim had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assaulting Anwar, who was at the time detained in a cell at the Bukit Aman, and was convicted under section 323 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of one year, or a fine of RM2,000 or both.

Under the original charge of attempting to cause Anwar grievous hurt, Rahim could have been jailed for three and a half years.

Rahim is appealing to the appellate court against the imposition of the jail sentence.