KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — An Australian forensic pathologist admitted today the possibility of finding sperm heads inside a person’s rectum up to 65 hours after sex, but pointed out that a scientific finding could not be based on such a rare occurrence, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial heard today.
Dr David Wells, an expert witness for the defence, was responding to a point raised by the prosecution of the existence of a case where sperm heads were discovered up to 65 hours after sex, shower and defecation.
Government lawyer Datuk Yusof Zainal Abiden who is leading the prosecution against Opposition Leader Anwar told the High Court there was a medical case study done in the UK which had recorded that finding, contradicting previous claims that sperm could only survive up to 36 hours.
Under cross-examination from Yusof, Australian forensic pathologist and expert on sexual assault cases, Dr Wells verified he was aware of the case cited.
However, he insisted that it was the only case he knew of in 30 years to have recorded such a finding.
Dr Wells also said he had tried to test for sperm specimens after 36 hours and found no results.
“This is the only case I know of where there is any literature in 30 years. Do you base a scientific case on a single premise?
“I think most of us will say no, or with reservations,” he replied to Yusof.
Anwar is charged with sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhary Azlan three years ago.
Doctors from Hospital Kuala Lumpur who examined Saiful two days after the alleged incident said they managed to obtain DNA specimens from the complainant’s rectum despite a lapse of 56 hours, which has been a key issue disputed by Anwar’s defence team.
Lawyer Sankara Nair who is part of Anwar’s legal team, later told reporters that the case Yusof referred to was a controlled experiment conducted in the UK back in 1982.
“There was only that case. One solitary experiment, under controlled circumstances,” he emphasised.
The lawyer said the defence will argue that point at a later stage, and added that in Saiful’s case, the integrity of the sperm samples were even more questionable because a total of 90 hours has passed before the specimens were sent to the laboratory for analysis.
“Remember, it was 56 hours before he was medically examined; and then the police kept it for another day or so before submitting it to the lab for analysis. This is worse, more than 65 hours,” Sankara said.
The trial will resume tomorrow morning with the defence’s DNA expert, Australian Dr Brian McDonald, in the witness box.
No comments:
Post a Comment