Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar (picture) warned the public today to stop trying to force the police to reveal the identity of the man in the sex video which many have claimed to be Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Khalid said that since the case was being investigated under Section 292 of the Penal Code in relation to the offence of possession and distribution of pornography, there is no need for the police to reveal the identity of the individual in the video.
“There is no legal need to reveal the identity of the person. If we go above what is legally permitted, we will be accused of being politically motivated.
“We are carrying out our duties in investigating this case. What we cannot reveal we won’t reveal ... Don’t pressure us, we are following the law,” Khalid was quoted by Bernama Online as saying.
Khalid’s remarks were a response to Kita president Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s claims that the credibility of the police force would be in jeopardy if they did not reveal the identity of the man in the sex video.
The deputy IGP said that police had wrapped up their investigations and it was now up to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to take further action.
“The police have done their part, whether or not anyone will be prosecuted is not up to the police. That is the job of the Attorney-General’s Chambers,” he added today.
The video first made headlines on March 21 after it was shown to selected media outlets at Carcosa Seri Negara here by an individual identifying himself as “Datuk T”.
Two days after the screening, the trio of Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik and Datuk Shuib Lazim came forward to reveal themselves collectively as “Datuk T”.
Following a police investigation into the screening, the trio claimed to have surrendered the extant copy of the sex video to the police.
The unedited video was also uploaded to video-sharing website YouTube on April 28, but was taken down shortly after for violating the site’s terms of usage. Prior to that, two “teasers” of the clip had also been uploaded to the same site.
Shazryl has since taken a “sumpah laknat”, or an oath to swear on Allah’s name, declaring that he had spoken the truth when alleging that Anwar is the man in the video.
His challenge to Anwar to do the same was, however, turned down.
On April 14, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar declared the video as authentic, likely proving claims that the man featured in the 21-minute recording is indeed Anwar.
Ismail had said the identity of the man was verified based on strong evidence obtained during investigations, although he declined to identify the man in the video as it could interfere with the ongoing investigation.
The police were also reported to have sought the assistance of experts from the United States to study the authenticity of the controversial video.
Last Friday, Khalid himself said that new findings have backed up earlier conclusions that the video had not been doctored.
“We have received the report from foreign experts and it reaffirms our experts’ findings about the authenticity of the video ... that it is authentic, and not edited.
“If the video is authentic, you draw your own conclusions,” he told reporters.
Khalid, however, said current legislation does not require people recorded in pornographic materials to be exposed or charged, reiterating that the police were only investigating the public screening and distribution of the video under section 292 of the Penal Code.
