“A witness who constantly changes his stand means he is lying,” argued Karpal. “And yet the judge declared that Azizan’s testimony is ‘as strong as the Rock of Gibraltar’.”
“The prosecution not only wanted their pound of flesh, it also wanted a pint of blood”
Karpal Singh continued where he left off on Wednesday, 26 March 2003, by emphasising that Section 402A of the Criminal Procedure Code is mandatory and there is absolutely no discretion in the matter.
The Kuala Lumpur Appeal Court was told that the date on the charge against Anwar was amended twice; from ‘May 1994’, to ‘May 1992’, then to ‘one day from1 January 1993 to 31 March 1993’. The defence had asked for a postponement to allow it time to file its notice of alibi but the court did not grant this ten-day grace that it should have under the law.
“This violated Article 5(1) of the Constitution,” argued Karpal. “Dato Seri Anwar was deprived of his right under the law.”
Karpal said the trial judge had acted prejudicial and irredeemable and he ought not to have sanctioned the prosecution of Anwar.
Karpal then asked the court to consider setting aside the judgement against Anwar.
On the credibility of the prosecution’s star witness, Azizan Abu Bakar, Karpal said Azizan gave five conflicting statements at different points of time.
Azizan’s statement was recorded under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code and, under this section of the code, a person whose statement is being recorded:
1. Must answer all questions posed to him. (He/she cannot refuse to answer any question).
2. Must tell the truth. (He/she cannot lie).
3. Anything he/she says can be used against him/her. (Including cited for perjury if he/she lies).
Azizan, who had his statement recorded over five different dates from August 1997 until June 1999, however, kept changing his stand.
“A witness who constantly changes his stand means he is lying,” argued Karpal. “And yet the judge declared that Azizan’s testimony is ‘as strong as the Rock of Gibraltar’.”
“Far from it!” said Karpal.
“The duty of the prosecutor is not to obtain a conviction but to administer justice.”
“The role of the prosecutor should exclude the notion of winning or losing.”
Karpal said that since Azizan made five conflicting statements at different points of time, this “made an improbability of what actually happened.”
As for the fact that Anwar was charged in 1999 for an event that was alleged to have happened in 1993, the six years delay would have reduced his opportunity of preparing a proper defence.
“Memories fail with time erasing the ability to recollect happenings six years ago,” said Karpal. “A fair trial could not be achieved with such a long time lapse.”
“Under section 402A, Dato Seri Anwar’s trial should never have taken place. This is a serious miscarriage of justice.”
“Your Lordships are bound to rule that Section 402A has been infringed.”
The Bench and Karpal then engaged in a debate as to the notice of alibi which, according to the Bench, is to the benefit of the prosecution.
Karpal argued that it did not matter as to whose benefit the notice of alibi may be. It is something mandatory and not something the judge could use his discretion to rule. The defence had made a request for a postponement but the trail judge denied the request.
“The judge did not do his duty. He should have stopped the trial and all the evidence should have been ruled inadmissible.”
Karpal then related how the defence had applied for a postponement to allow the investigating officer to investigate Anwar’s alibi. The Attorney-General then, Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, stood up to say he had no objections to the postponement.
“However, after lunch, the AG turned turtle and raised an objection.”
Even the judge had declared that the police should investigate the alibi. “Then, later, he turned round and said that it is their choice, that it was their discretion if they choose to do so.
“The judge said that it was the prosecution’s own funeral if they do not challenge the defence’s alibi.”
Karpal then told the court that the judge had stated that corroboration is necessary. He then turned around and said he was prepared to accept Azizan’s testimony without corroboration though Azizan was an unreliable testimony who perjured himself many times.
“Corroboration is necessary. But, if a witness is unreliable, then, even if his testimony is corroborated, it still cannot be accepted and should be rejected.”
Karpal then took the court through Azizan’s close proximity (khalwat) case in the Alor Gajah Syariah Court. Because of this case, Azizan’s credibility as a witness had been destroyed.
Azizan said he had revealed the alleged sodomy incident because of his “duty and honour as a Muslim.”
Karpal said the defence then requested to recall Azizan as a witness to reassess his credibility. The judge, however, would not allow it.
“You can put a label of a thoroughbred on a horse,” said Karpal. “But a donkey is still a donkey.”
“The judge was not only scraping the bottom of the barrel. He was scraping the outer bottom of the barrel.”
The investigation officer had testified that Azizan’s testimony had no contradictions. “Then why amend the date on the charge?” asked Karpal.
“Was the judge judicially honest in arriving at the decision that Azizan is a reliable witness who did not perjure himself?”
Karpal then said that medical evidence is prime evidence. “Why was Azizan not sent for a medical examination? This could have corroborated Azizan’s testimony.”
“The investigation officer admitted that there was still time to send Azizan for a medical examination.”
“The judge swallowed the evidence hook line and sinker.”
“Allegations of sodomy can easily be made but are very difficult to prove. The evidence therefore must be very convincing.”
In any trial, there is the prosecution’s case and the defence’s case. But Dato Seri Anwar was denied his constitutional right to a proper defence. Anwar, therefore, had only half a trial - which means he had no trial.
Karpal then asked the court to allow Anwar’s appeal and set aside the conviction.
“Anwar’s prosecution, in fact, ought not to have commenced right from the word go. No man properly trained in the law would have done what the AG (then) had done.”
“The prosecution not only wanted their pound of flesh. It also wanted a pint of blood.”
“Azizan’s evidence has turned to stardust.”
“A witness who constantly changes his stand means he is lying,” argued Karpal. “And yet the judge declared that Azizan’s testimony is ‘as strong as the Rock of Gibraltar’.”
“The prosecution not only wanted their pound of flesh, it also wanted a pint of blood”
Un-confuse the people then, Dep IGP
Deputy IGP Ismail Omar said the police may investigate "a website and a blog" over news articles on a medical report by a Myanmar doctor at Pusrawi Hospital. The articles, he said, undermine police investigations into the sodomy issue. The articles were also aimed at "confusing the people", he said.
I hope the Deputy IGP does not waste any more of his officers' time by opening up a another investigation every time there is "another effort to sabotage police investigations".
The best thing to do is for him to call for a press conference and let us the people know about the progress the police have made in their investigations. If the Deputy IGP thinks the people should not be confused, then keep the people informed.
I also think the police should order Saiful's head examined. If he had gone to Pusrawi claiming to have been buggered when in actual fact he had never been buggered, he must be plain daft or it's all in his mind.
Also, what kind of fixers do we have if the Government is indeed masterminding Saiful's sodomy accusation against Anwar Ibrahim. I mean, why engage a doctor that may not cooperate with you if you want to fix someone?
p.s. I was following Haris Ibrahim's Certified Virgin! and Zorro'sNow we know who buggered Saiful ... for latest on the issue. Could not access Malaysia Today and my account with Malaysiakini has expired.
PERUGIA, Italy — A key prosecution witness testifying in Amanda Knox's appeals trial gave conflicting reports Saturday about whether he saw the American near the crime scene the night her British roommate was murdered.
The contradicting testimony and confused dates offered by Antonio Curatolo, a self-described drug addict and homeless man now in prison for an unrelated conviction, cast doubts on his credibility. The defense called him flat-out unreliable, while the prosecution maintained that, despite some lack of precision, the witness was lucid and clear in what he remembered. Knox, 23, has been convicted of the sexual assault and murder of Meredith Kercher in the house they shared as exchange students in Perugia and is serving a 26-year-prison sentence.
In the first trial, Curatolo placed Knox and her co-defendant and ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, in a square near the house on the night of the murder. He said the two were chatting and added that he remembered seeing buses in the square. The testimony was important because it directly contradicted Knox and Sollecito's claim that they were at Sollecito's house the night of the murder.
On Saturday he repeated that he saw the two "talking excitedly" in the square and said he thought it was Halloween night – which would be the night before the Nov. 1, 2007 murder. He was unclear when Halloween night actually is, saying he thought it was Nov. 1 or 2. Despite the date confusion, he repeatedly said that he saw young people dressed up in costumes.
But, at another point, he also said he clearly remembers seeing police at the house the morning after he saw Knox and Sollecito in the square. Police went to the crime scene on Nov. 2, when Kercher's body was found, stabbed to death and lying in a pool of blood.
"Police and Carabinieri were coming and going, and I also saw the 'extraterrestrials' – that would be the men in white overalls," Curatolo told the court with a smile, referring to forensic experts gathering evidence.
Twice he was asked by Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini whether he was certain that police were at the house the morning after he saw Knox and Sollecito in the square. Curatolo answered: "I'm as certain as I am that I'm sitting here."
He said that in 2007 he was living outdoors in the square in question.
The 54-year-old also admitted to a long-lasting drug habit, including in 2007, saying: "I have always done drugs, ... heroin, which is not a hallucinogen." He also appeared to either lie or be confused when he initially told the court that he was currently living in a home. Pressed, he acknowledged he was in prison.
Curatolo has been convicted on a drug-dealing charge, said his lawyer, Fernanda Cherubini.
Escorted by police but not handcuffed, Curatolo entered the courtroom in Perugia using a crutch, his white hair unkempt.
The defense had long sought to discredit him.
Giulia Bongiorno, a lawyer for Sollecito, said the hearing "marked an important step forward for the defense's arguments."
Chris Mellas, Knox's stepfather, said that "it couldn't go any better today."
"He confirmed that there were disco buses and that he saw the kids getting on and that it was Halloween. Perfect!" Mellas said after the hearing.
The bus detail is relevant because on Oct. 31 several shuttle buses took people to clubs around Perugia for Halloween parties, while the following night discos were either closed or had a slower night. The prosecution, however, maintains that even on Nov. 1 tourist buses, public transport and possibly shuttle buses for some discos could have been operating.
Prosecutors insisted Curatolo remained reliable, if not very precise.
Prosecutor Manuela Comodi said the confusion between Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 is a moot point as it has already been ascertained that Knox was somewhere else – in a pub where she worked – on Oct. 31 and so could not have been seen in the square.
"What's certain is that she couldn't have been there on Halloween night," Comodi said. "There is no such thing as a perfect witness, save for one who has seen the crime. What matters is that a witness doesn't lie, and why should Curatolo lie?"
Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for the Kerchers who are civil plaintiffs in the case, told reporters that Curatolo was as reliable now as during the first trial. He noted that Curatolo said it was not raining when he saw Knox and Sollecito, which would confirm Nov. 1 since it wasn't raining that night but it had been raining on Oct. 31.
Knox and Sollecito have been behind bars since November 2007. Sollecito, who turned 27 Saturday, was also convicted of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The next hearing is on May 21, when experts reviewing DNA evidence will report their findings to the court.
Knox's young sister Deanna, who arrived in Italy this week, also attended the session.
Timeline
1840-2011 Search other dates
Search Results
1934 Mar 8, 1934 - By I)DEWEY L FLEMING Washington Bureau ojf The Sun] Washington, March 7-- Highly conflicting testimony of Harry H. Woodring, Assistant Secretary of War, and Maj. Gen. ... "The questions called for short an- swers and I didn't go into detail at the time," thewitness answered. ...
From PRESIDENT SEEKS AIR MAIL RETURN TO PRIVATE LINES; FOULOIS …- Related web pages
pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1671516722 ...1959 Jun 11, 1959 - This answer gives rise to appellants' contention that the court erred in admitting his opinion as to value of the residue. Appellants objected to the answer and moved to strike it. The court sustained the objection. Appellants then moved that all the testimony of thewitness as to his ...
From Texas Case Law - STATE v. RIGBY, 324 SW2d 941 (Tex.Civ.App.-Waco …- Related web pages
www.loislaw.com/gpc/index.htp?dockey=3787011 ...1976 Nov 14, 1976 - ... ... witness in the second murder trial of Rubin (Hurricane) Carter and John Artis today gave the court seemingly conflicting testimony when she ... Yesterday she was shown a bullet and a shell allegedly recovered by the police in Mr. Carter's car-testimony that she did not give in her ...
From Key Witness in Carter Trial Gives Testimony That Apparently ... - Related web pages
select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res ...1979 Feb 27, 1979 - Rule 611(b), NMSA 1978 gives the trial court the power to control the scope of cross-examination of a witness or witnesses. .... These instructions are concerned with the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence, weighing conflicting testimony, and the alibi defense....
From New Mexico Case Law - STATE v. SMITH, 92 NM 533 (1979) - Related web pages
www.loislaw.com/gpc/index.htp?dockey=7977728 ...1982 Mar 11, 1982 - Posner reminded Cook, of his earlier testimony under questioning by Jones in which he said he destroyed the gun. ... After the defense rested, the prosecution called one rebuttal witness. Toledo Detective Robert Morrissey testified that his report of an interview that he had with ...
From Cook Gives Conflicting Testimony About Gun .Also Says He Went To Lot …- Related web pages
news.google.com/newspapers?id=YkBPAAAAIBAJ ...1987 Jul 22, 1987 - WASHINGTON — On the heels of sharply conflicting testimony, members of the congressional iran-contra committees are giving up hope of ever knowing the full story of the tangled affair. it's reasonable and logical to conclude that we will rave to close the investigation with a few holes ...
From Panel Gives Up Hope Of Getting Full Story . - Related web pages
news.google.com/newspapers?id=5yBZAAAAIBAJ ...1994 Feb 8, 1994 - GEORGETOWN, Texas - The case against Kerry Cook showed its age Monday as jurors heard victim Linda Jo Edwards' roommate give conflicting ... Sgt. Downing'stestimony was his first in the history of the case. Mr. Mayfield, now 60, also testified for about an hour, telling jurors how he ...
From The Dallas Morning News: Cook case witness gives conflicting testimony- Related web pages
docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/DM/lib00377 ...1998 Aug 27, 1998 - ... ``This witness has changed her story so many times just in the last 20 minutes,' ' Laswell said. ``I don't think this woman knows the difference between the truth and a lie.'' CANDACE BARBOT / Herald Staff BEMUSED DEFENDANT: Eliphane ` Tiga' Dorissmiles during testimony at his murder ...
From Miami Herald, The : WIDOW GIVES CONFLICTING TESTIMONY AT …- Related web pages
docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/MH/lib00256 ...1999 May 22, 1999 - MIAMI -- The prosecution's star witness in the Port of Miami corruption trial on Friday seemed to contradict himself about his real estate deal with the seaport director. Frederic Darden, a former seaport executive, testified that his employer gave him a $33000 raise and loaned him ...
From EX-PORT EXECUTIVE GIVES CONFLICTING TESTIMONY - Related web pages
pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access ...2004 Dec 16, 2004 - Moreover, after considering the evidence in a neutral light and weighing theconflicting testimony and inferences that may be drawn therefrom ... Nor are we persuaded by defendant's assertions that County Court failed to give ample weight to her purportedhistory of being abused by her ...
From New York Appellate Division Reports - PEOPLE v. MASSMANN, 13 AD3d …- Related web pages
www.loislaw.com/gpc/index.htp?dockey=17412572 ...
No comments:
Post a Comment