Two unknown male DNA profiles were found on a swab of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s perianal region, the High Court was told in the Sodomy II trial today.
Government scientist Dr Seah Lay Hong, who was the sole expert witness to testify today, said she had detected a mixture of three male DNA profiles from swab stick “B5” said to be taken from the area just outside Saiful’s anus.
Of the three, she said her chemistry report dated July 7, 2008 found that one had matched Saiful’s bloodstain sample provided while a second matched the DNA profile of an unknown man she had earlier called “Male Y” who had also left semen stains on a pair of grey Levi’s briefs said to belong to Saiful.
The identities of the two male contributors have yet to be established in court.
Semen stains were also found on two spots on a black pair of his trousers.
But it was the presence of a third male on Saiful’s anal region that caused a stir in court today.
The university dropout, who had previously worked for Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had complained his ex-boss had sodomised him at a luxury condominium in upper-class Bukit Damansara on June 26, 2008.
Saiful, now aged 25, has never named anyone else.
Dr Seah appeared hesitant to speculate about how a second mystery male DNA profile had been transferred to the perianal region, saying she was not an expert.
But when the prosecution pushed the question despite the defence lawyers’ objection, Dr Seah said it was mostly through a third-party contact and not directly.
She said it was possible for the DNA profile to transfer from another surface to Saiful’s perianal region; such as a through the backside’s contact with a common toilet seat.
Dr Seah also noted that two other swabs of Saiful’s rectal area showed the presence of a male DNA profile other than his own.
She said that another swab stick marked as “B7”, which was one of two taken from the high rectal area, showed that the mystery man Male Y’s DNA stamp there to be more dominant than Saiful’s own.
A second swab of the same area however revealed neither Male Y to be more dominant than Saiful or otherwise.
Dr Seah spent the afternoon expanding on an indepth analysis of her findings.
The court proceedings were abruptly halted less than two hours into the prosecution’s questioning of Dr Seah when the defence team informed the judge of yet another discrepancy in their copy of the 52-page detailed profiling report.
Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd ordered the prosecution to hand over a proper copy before adjourning the trial to tomorrow at 8.30am.
The trial had been set back in its morning session when the defence team was supplied with a different version of a police document, triggering an outcry from Anwar’s side.
Anwar, the 63-year-old PKR de facto leader, is currently facing sodomy charges for the second time in his life.
The former deputy prime minister is charged with sodomising his former aide at Unit 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara here between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
Anwar has denied the charge, describing it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power” when the charge was read out to him.
He is charged under section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction.
The trial is taking place 18 months after Anwar was charged in court in August 2008.
He was charged with sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he was sacked from the Cabinet and was later convicted and jailed for both offences.
He was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.
He had three years ago led the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.
