A defence counsel in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial had a tough time getting answers this morning but was repeatedly told instead not to yell in court by a prosecution witness.
"Please do not shout," Chemistry Department Paternity DNA Unit head Nor Aidora Saedon told lawyer Ram Karpal Singh during cross-examination in the High Court.
Ram Karpal warned Nor Aidora, the sixth prosecution witness, to take the matter seriously after she laughed several times while giving her testimony.
Asked if she received the order form to conduct investigations on the four items handed to her on July 17, 2008, Nor Aidora said she got a call from the Chemistry Department director-general N. Hithiya Jeeva.
On Wednesday, Nor Aidor testified that she received and examined a strand of hair found on the floor, a toothbrush, a 'Good Morning' brand towel with another strand of hair on it, as well as an empty mineral water bottle.
Upon examination of the items, Nor Aidor further testified she developed DNA profile from the toothbrush, towel and empty mineral water bottle which matched that of mysterious male contributor "Male Y", whose DNA was
traced in semen found in a swab taken from Anwar's former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Ram Karpal today asked the witness if it was normal for a DNA profiling request to be submitted by police.
Nor explained the normal procedure was for the police to bring the items to the Chemistry Department and hand it over at the counter with the police request form (pol31), and the counter staff would then hand it over to the department head who would decide on who would be assigned to the particular case.
She said she received a call from Hithiya on the afternoon of July 17, 2008, that she would be assigned to examine the samples for DNA profiling.
However, Nor's answers became unclear leading Ram Karpal to feel she was not answering the question despite asking her repeatedly.
When he raised his voice to ask her the question again, she told Ram Karpal to stop shouting at her. This was followed by an objection by Deputy public prosecutor Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden and a heated argument between the two lawyers ensued as Ram Karpal said Yusof was interrupting his cross-examination.
Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah managed to ease the situation and told Ram to continue questioning.
However, less than 15 minutes later, a second drama occured when Ram Karpal asked Nor if she found any degradation in the samples she received. Nor said she did not examine the sample for degradation.
Ram: I'm asking a yes or a no, do you agree there was degradation in this case?
Nor Aidora: No, I manage to obtain a perfect DNA profile from the samples.
Her answer again irked Ram Karpal as she was not answering the question, and once again Nor Aidora told him to stop shouting at her.
Earlier, Nor Aidora told the court there will be degradation to a sample after it leaves the body.
Besides this, Nor Aidora, when later explaining to the court on the her DNA results, suddenly asked the Judge, "Do you understand what I'm saying?" That caused laughter to break out in the courtroom.
Mohamad Zabidin replied: "You don't have to ask me if I understand, just carry on with the cross examination."
Anwar, 63, is charged with sodomising 25-year-old Mohd Saiful at Unit 11-5-1 of Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
The hearing continues.
