The Attorney-General's Chamber cannot be expected to independently probe the alleged affair between Mohd Saiful Bukhairy Azlan and DPP Farah Azalina Latif.
Veteran lawyer and lawmaker Karpal Singh pointed out that because Farah is a part of the AG's Chambers, investigations should rightfully be conducted by an independent body.
Farah Azlina was part of the prosecution team in Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial while Saiful is the alleged victim.
"The attorney-general cannot be judge and jury in his own cause. It is elementary that there should been an independent investigation by a body with no affinity to the Attorney-General's Chambers," he said in a statement yesterday.
Karpal (left) was responding to de facto Law Minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz's statement in Parliament yesterday that the Attorney-General's Chambers found no "concrete" evidence of the claim.
Karpal said logic and reason cannot support having the Attorney-General Chambers probe the matter and clearing the couple later.
"The unprecedented allegations of an affair between a DPP and a complainant in a criminal trial cries out for an open inquiry, lest this precedent be emulated by others like-minded prosecutors in the future," he said.
Why was she removed?
And should such an affair exist, Karpal said its implication is far reaching as it would include criminal culpability in a Syariah Court.
"There are provisions in Muslim law for such impropriety, including punishment for zina, one of the most serious crimes known in Islamic law," he said.
Karpal said Farah's removal from the prosecution bench in the Sodomy II trial also raises questions about her innocence.
"Why should she have been punished through this move if she was innocent of any impropriety?" asked Karpal.
On July 27 last year, Farah was removed from the prosecution bench after allegations emerged over the Internet that she and Saiful were involved in a romantic relationship.
Anwar had later alleged in court that both Saiful and Farah had yet to deny the allegations.
Comments
Post a Comment