Police investigating doctor's SD - Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Aug 8, 2008 By LOURDES CHARLES

Police are investigating the Statutory Declaration (SD) allegedly made by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid, the doctor from the private hospital that treated Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, as there are several contradictions and errors in it.

Criminal Investigations Department director Commissioner Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin said police were concerned about the contradictions and errors and were currently verifying the authenticity of the SD.

"Our investigations commenced soon after an article under the heading 'What the IGP and AG do not know yet' was published on Thursday in the news portal Malaysia Today that contained a copy of the SD purportedly made by Dr Osman of Hospital Pusrawi.

"We are not at liberty at this stage to disclose further information as the said doctor is a witness in the upcoming trial of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who has been charged with sodomy.

"We strongly believe that the article was intended solely to skew public perception and undermine the police '' he said in a statement.

In his statutory declaration dated Aug 1, Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid @ Than Aung, reiterated that he stood by “his findings”.

He said he had no knowledge of how his medical examination report on Mohd Saiful was circulated to the media and on the Internet.

“I would like to stress that I have no knowledge of the person responsible for leaking the report to any third party,” he added.

Dr Mohamed Osman said that some time early last month he was visited by an officer from the Brickfields district police’s criminal division, ASP Rosmi Mat Derus, who interviewed him about the medical examination on Mohd Saiful.

He said ASP Rosmi recorded the statement in his own handwriting in Bahasa Malaysia.

The following week the same officer returned with a typed statement in Bahasa Malaysia for him to read and sign.

However, he said certain facts that were not discussed in the previous meeting had been introduced in the typed statement, namely Anwar’s name.

Dr Mohamed Osman claimed Anwar’s name was never brought up during the first interview and Mohd Saiful also never confided to him the identity of the alleged perpetrator.