Sodomy II: Najib and Rosmah to take the stand?

Anwar Ibrahim's defence continues tomorrow until Friday amidst a threat by Umno friendly blogger Papagomo to release another sex video allegedly taped on Jan 12 this year.

However the spotlight will first be on Aussie DNA specialist Dr Brian McDonald (right) who resumes taking the stand tomorrow to continue testifying in the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy II trial.

The fourth defence witness is expected to take the stand for another two days and the examination in chief will be conducted by lawyer Ram Karpal Singh.

In the last session McDonald testified he was puzzled with thepristine condition of the rectal swab samples taken by the Hospital Kuala Lumpur doctors although they were not placed in a freezer as recommended, but instead were kept four days in a drawer before being taken to the chemist.

He also expressed his puzzlement regarding the testimony by chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong who said she found sperm after more than 98 hours, as this is not supported by medical journals.

McDonald who is also an international evaluator of forensic labs, also told the court that the Malaysian lab in Petaling Jaya had not received the ISO 17025 international accreditation standard as required under the American Society of Criminal Laboratory Directors (ASCLD).

It is on probation since 2005 under the less exacting Legacy Programme which was twice extended in 2010 and ends next month.

The matter came about when the Aussie expert hired by Anwar highlighted the importance of tracing the movement of evidence and the treatment of samples.

Another Aussie expert Dr David Wells (left) had testified earlier that DNA samples retrieved from complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan may beuseless.

Wells was stumped when solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden asked how could a third person plant sperm into Saiful's rectum.

This, presumably would require that person to somehow obtain semen from the accused.

Will Najib, Rosmah takes the stand?

After McDonald, the director-general of the Chemistry Department, Lim Kong Boon, is expected to take the stand to explain the status of the forensic lab which is under probation.

Lim is no stranger to Anwar's trial as he had testified in the sodomy I trial in 1998. However his evidence was not accepted.

Besides Lim, who was not originally on the witness list, the others expected to be called include Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor, former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and former Malacca police chief Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof who was formerly Najib's aide de camp.

Unlike the 1998 and 1999 trial, then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had applied to set aside the subpoena issued by the defence and was successful. However till today Najib and Rosmah have not applied to set aside their subpoenas.

This could lead to a highly anticipated showdown in court.

Najib and Rosmah had met Saiful two days before the alleged sodomy incident.

Saiful had testified that he met Najib and called Musa's handphone a day later. He also met Rodwan the next day after meeting Najib. This has resulted in assertions by Anwar that this is all about a political conspiracy.

Anwar had at the outset of his defence when giving his statement from the dock that the charge is a scurrilous attack on him by certain political masters, utilising Saiful, the hospital and government chemists to prove its case.