Anwar lodges police report on missing phone, documents
K KabilanPublished: Feb 8, 2001 12:48 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
A handphone and several legal and medical documents have been stolen from former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's hospital room while he was away for treatment, according to a police report lodged on Tuesday by Anwar.
A handphone and several legal and medical documents have been stolen from former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's hospital room while he was away for treatment, according to a police report lodged on Tuesday by Anwar.
Anwar said in the report, a copy which was made available to malaysiakini by his lawyers, that he believed the items were stolen from his room in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital following a search by two senior prison officers on Dec 20 last year.
Anwar, serving two jail terms totalling 15 years for corruption and sodomy, said that the illegal search was made when he was away at the Selayang Hospital to undergo scanning for his back pain. He is undergoing treatment for his chronic back pain at the KL hospital since November.
The report was lodged by Anwar at the Dang Wangi police station on Feb 6 at about 2.15pm.
In the report, Anwar said that the search was conducted by prison officers known only as Husin Mastan and Baskaran.
Wife's handphone
He said that when he returned to his room in the afternoon on that day, he found that his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's handphone which was left in her handbag was missing. Wan Azizah is also the president of opposition party Keadilan.
Also missing, he said, were his medical and legal documents. The legal documents pertained to his appeal to the Federal Court as well as comments and notes made by himself and his lawyers.
Anwar said that should these items be confiscated by prison officials during the search, he was not informed about it.
"On my instructions, my lawyer Sankara Nair wrote to the prison authorities on Jan 5, asking for the return of these items," he said.
Case jeopardised
However, Anwar added, he received a reply on Jan 15 stating that the matter was under investigation.
Sankara, in a statement, said the illegal action by the authorities were distressing, adding that the loss of privileged legal documents may seriously jeopardise and compromise their case.
"We demand the immediate return of the items and an explanation therewith," he said.
"We further deem this as an act of theft and a serious breach of Anwar's legal and constitutional rights," said Sankara.
Back to prison cell
Anwar's stay in the hospital is also at stake now as he believed that he would be transferred to a smaller cell in Sungai Buloh prison soon although his treatment is not completed.
Sankara said Anwar was told of this by a reliable source.
Anwar is seeking a specialist endoscopic microsurgery overseas in a dedicated spinal centre for his back pain. However, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said recently that according to expert opinion, the surgery could be performed in Malaysia.
This prompted Anwar's camp to seek permission from the government for a German expert in endoscopic microsurgery, which is a new surgery technique that allows for a minimum risk for patients, to examine Anwar here. This has not been approved by the government.
Anwar said in the report, a copy which was made available to malaysiakini by his lawyers, that he believed the items were stolen from his room in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital following a search by two senior prison officers on Dec 20 last year.
Anwar, serving two jail terms totalling 15 years for corruption and sodomy, said that the illegal search was made when he was away at the Selayang Hospital to undergo scanning for his back pain. He is undergoing treatment for his chronic back pain at the KL hospital since November.
The report was lodged by Anwar at the Dang Wangi police station on Feb 6 at about 2.15pm.
In the report, Anwar said that the search was conducted by prison officers known only as Husin Mastan and Baskaran.
Wife's handphone
He said that when he returned to his room in the afternoon on that day, he found that his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's handphone which was left in her handbag was missing. Wan Azizah is also the president of opposition party Keadilan.
Also missing, he said, were his medical and legal documents. The legal documents pertained to his appeal to the Federal Court as well as comments and notes made by himself and his lawyers.
Anwar said that should these items be confiscated by prison officials during the search, he was not informed about it.
"On my instructions, my lawyer Sankara Nair wrote to the prison authorities on Jan 5, asking for the return of these items," he said.
Case jeopardised
However, Anwar added, he received a reply on Jan 15 stating that the matter was under investigation.
Sankara, in a statement, said the illegal action by the authorities were distressing, adding that the loss of privileged legal documents may seriously jeopardise and compromise their case.
"We demand the immediate return of the items and an explanation therewith," he said.
"We further deem this as an act of theft and a serious breach of Anwar's legal and constitutional rights," said Sankara.
Back to prison cell
Anwar's stay in the hospital is also at stake now as he believed that he would be transferred to a smaller cell in Sungai Buloh prison soon although his treatment is not completed.
Sankara said Anwar was told of this by a reliable source.
Anwar is seeking a specialist endoscopic microsurgery overseas in a dedicated spinal centre for his back pain. However, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said recently that according to expert opinion, the surgery could be performed in Malaysia.
This prompted Anwar's camp to seek permission from the government for a German expert in endoscopic microsurgery, which is a new surgery technique that allows for a minimum risk for patients, to examine Anwar here. This has not been approved by the government.
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