Anwar arrested - The Star

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim leaving the ACA headquarters in Putrajaya after giving his statement on Wednesday. The police later arrested Anwar and took him to the city police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur at 1.15pm in a white Pajero

KUALA LUMPUR: Jul 16, 2008

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived at the city police headquarters here in a white Pajero at 1.15pm Wednesday after being arrested by the police.

He had been arrested in front of his house in Bukit Segambut.

His lawyer Sankara Nair said the police told Anwar that he was being arrested for investigations under Section 377C of the Penal Code for alleged "carnal intercourse against the order of nature."

On June 28, his 23-year-old former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan had lodged a police report alleging that Anwar had sodomised him.

Asked if Anwar was handcuffed, Sankara said he was not.

CID director Commissioner Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin said Anwar will be taken to the Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a routine checkup which was a required procedure.

He said besides the checkup that was for record purposes the police had also extended other facilities including allowing his family members and lawyers to visit him.

"He is also allowed to go for his prayers. We will accord whatever facility the laws allow ... that we can assure.

"We urge the public to not to listen to rumours saying he is not allowed to meet his family or even say his prayers,'' he said, adding that Anwar was safe and sound.

Anwar started giving his statement to the police at about 2.50pm, said another of his lawyers R. Sivarasa, also the Subang Member of Parliament (MP).

Anwar's wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said he had called her from the police car to say he had been arrested.

"He asked me to go home to look after the children," she said when met in Parliament lobby earlier Wednesday.

Wan Azizah was at the city police headquarters by 1.30pm, followed 25 minutes later by daughter Nurul Izzah and her husband Raja Ahmad Shahrir.

Police said they arrested Anwar an hour earlier before the 2pm deadline because they feared he would not show up.

Federal CID director Comm Datuk Bakri Zinin said Anwar was supposed to have gone directly to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters immediately after giving his statement to the ACA in Putrajaya.

"However, we were informed that after he left the ACA headquarters in Putrajaya, he had changed his route and was heading back to his house in (Bukit) Segambut," he said.

"He was arrested as we had reason to believe he was not going to show up," he claimed.

"We wish to point out that Anwar had initially agreed to meet us on Monday but he failed to keep his appointment," Comm Bakri added.

It is learnt that the arrest was carried out by Bukit Aman's Serious Crimes Division and not by the Special Action Force (UTK).

PKR members and about 200 supporters had gathered at the city police headquarters after news of the arrest went out.

"I don't believe this is happening. We will seek to get him released as soon as possible," said DAP chairman Karpal Singh.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang described the arrest as "highly provocative and shocking."

Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusuf, who was there as Anwar's lawyer, said the matter would be brought up in Parliament.

The police had on Tuesday given Anwar a 2pm deadline to answer allegations of sodomy.

Anwar was at the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) headquarters in Putrajaya at 10am Wednesday over reports he had lodged against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General (A-G).

In his report lodged on July 1, Anwar had alleged that IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan and A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail had fabricated evidence in the “black eye” investigation in 1999.

Musa was the investigating officer and Abdul Gani led the prosecution in the case in which Anwar had been beaten up by the IGP then, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor.

The two were questioned by the ACA on July 11.

Anwar left the ACA headquarters at 12.20pm.

He said the ACA had not completed its interview, but he had to cut it short to make his 2pm appointment with the police to answer questions over the sodomy allegation made against him.

"I have adduced all evidence to the ACA officers and I am satisfied with the line of questioning," he said, adding that everything he said had been recorded.

The interview was conducted by a few ACA officers, said Anwar, who arrived at the agency accompanied by lawyers Sankara, Sivarasa, Param Cumaraswamy and dozens of supporters.

"If I am arrested, I guess the ACA can do their follow-up interview at the lock-up," he joked.

People started gathering outside the city police headquarters on Jalan Hang Tuah, Kuala Lumpur, after the police arrested Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday. The road has been closed to traffic because of the crowd gathered there