Cop: Anwar held overnight as probe incomplete

Pereira said lock-up rules barred him from taking Anwar’s statement past 6pm. — Picture by Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 10 — It had been necessary to detain Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim overnight from July 16 to 17, 2008 as police officers were not done recording his statements in relation to a sodomy complaint, DSP Jude Pereira testified today.

Pereira, who was the investigating officer (IO) in Anwar’s sodomy case, justified the politician’s overnight arrest at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters, citing the limits of the interrogation period as the main reason.

“It was late and we are bound by lock-up rules not to record statements after 6pm.

“That is why he was held at the lock-up (overnight),” Pereira told the court.

Anwar’s lawyers maintain that his detention had been illegal, and had recently won a ruling in which all evidence retrieved from the lockup during the period — a towel, toothbrush and mineral water bottle as well all DNA samples relating to the items — were expunged.

Anwar had personally testified during a trial-within-a-trial last week that Pereira had promised him on July 16 that, after his witness statements were recorded in the afternoon, he would be free to go home.

Instead, Anwar was told to wait in the police station until late evening, after which he was brought to Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) for a medical examination.

Today, Pereira insisted that the PKR de facto leader’s detention was necessary to allow police to question Anwar about the HKL hospital visit.

“I took his statement at about 8.35am about the HKL (on July 17). I finished recording his statement at 9.20am.

“He was held overnight because investigations (were) not yet complete,” said Pereira.

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