KUALA LUMPUR: Muhammed Yusoff Rawther’s long delay in accusing his ex-boss, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, of sexual misconduct turned out to be a stumbling block for police investigators to obtain substantial evidence for the case to stick in court.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador (pix) said today the alleged sexual attack as claimed by Muhammed Yusoff, Anwar’s former research assistant, had occurred more than a year ago and it was an arduous task for police to obtain physical and other corroborative evidence on the case.
“Nothing insidious or fishy about it. It is straightforward. It happened a long time ago and it is difficult. Whether he is speaking the truth or not is another question. What we need is physical and corroborative evidence. The decision of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) is based on the findings of the CID. Until and unless new evidence surfaces can we re-open the investigations into the case,” he said at a press conference at the Jalan Semarak police training centre.
Asked if a polygraph test taken by Muhammed Yusoff had not helped investigators in the course of the probe, Abdul Hamid said the test was to determine if he was telling the truth or otherwise.
“The test does help in convincing police if he is telling the truth. If we find he is not telling the truth, then there is no point in wasting our time. If the polygraph test shows he is telling the truth, then we can pursue to obtain more evidence. However, if we are still unable to get evidence, then there is no point as the case will not stick in court. We are not going to tender the polygraph test results as evidence in court as it is not allowed by the law.” he said.
On Tuesday, Solicitor-General Datuk Engku Nor Faizah Engku Atek, in a statement, said that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute any parties based on the police investigation papers and agreed with the recommendation of the police to not further pursue the case.
She also said that the AGC discovered that there was contradiction of material facts that could not support any prosecution under Section 354 of the Penal Code for assault or use of criminal force to a person with intent to outrage modesty or any other sections under the same code.
Muhammad Yussof had released a statutory declaration on Dec 2 last year alleging he was sexually assaulted by Anwar on Oct 2, 2018.
Days later he lodged a police report prompting police to investigate the allegations.
