Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid (centre) with his lawyerM. Puravalen (left) and Yusri Kamarudin after the press conferenceat Bar Council today.
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4, 2008): After going "missing" for over a month, the Myanmar doctor who examined Mohd Saiful Azlan Bukhari at Hospital Pusrawi here met the Press today to clear his name.
"There have been a lot of media statements in Malaysia made by various individuals, and some of those statements have put me in a bad light both professionally and as a person. Please be assured that I had merely done my job as a doctor," said Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid, who was accompanied by his lawyers M Puravelan and Yusri Kamaruddin.
His hastily-called press conference was held at the Bar Council premises here.
He denied leaking a medical report from Pusrawi that was made by him which declared that no evidence of sodomy was found in a physical examinatino of Saiful, the person who accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy.
"I had never at any time breached my professional ethics. I have always practiced doctor-patient confidentiality," said Mohd Osman, adding that he had "no idea" how the report was leaked. "I am very angry (that the report was leaked), but it is out of my hands. I do not hold the patient's folder all the time."
He affirmed that the Aug 1 statutory declaration which was published on the website Malaysia-Today was signed by him.
"I have had the chance to read the statutory declaration that has been put up on Malaysia Today, and I confirm it is a true copy of my statutory declaration."
Mohd Osman, who read from a prepared statement before responding to questions from the press, said he had gone on leave on the recommendation of Pusrawi "due to pressures placed on him".
He declined to say where he had been for the past month, but admitted he had left the country due to the pressure following the leak of the medical report.
He said he did feel depressed and shaken when the report was made public, but denied he was in any danger or harassed.
"I was not in any danger, and the police never harassed or detained me," said Mohd Osman, who said he was "shaken" by the police investigation.
"Actually, I am not familiar with or am used to the police. I am a doctor, and I have no experience with these kind of things," he said, adding that he would return to work "as soon as possible".
Anwar, who is now a member of Parliament and also Parliamentary opposition leader, will have his sodomy case heard again on Sept 10, after being charged on Aug 7.
When asked whether Mohd Osman would testify as a material witness, Puravelan said Mohd Osman was a important link in the chain of evidence.
"From the facts that appear in the public domain, he would be a critical component in the chain of evidence."
Tan Yi Liang
The Sun
04/09/08
No comments:
Post a Comment