The court made the unanimous ruling today after hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the defence team yesterday and today.
The three-man Court of Appeal panel was chaired by Justice Balia Yusof Wahi with Justices Aziah Ali and Mohd Zawawi Salleh.
The decision was announced in the court after the judges had deliberated for about an hour and a half.
The three member bench said Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah had erred in his decision to free Anwar.
Judge Balia said that justice Mohd Zabidin should have correctly and properly appreciated that the “tampering” was restricted to the bag containing the individual test tubes of the samples, and the test tubes themselves remained sealed and intact.
He said justice Mohd Zabidin also erred in giving “undue weight” to the two foreign experts brought to testify in the trial court by the defence team, whom he described as “armchair experts”.
“We find that the learned judge has misdirected himself in failing to properly and judicially appreciate the evidence of the prosecution witnesses on the issue of the integrity of the sample. Such failure merits apparent intervention,” said Justice Balia.
“We unanimously allow this appeal and set aside the decision of the High Court. The respondent is hereby found guilty and convicted of the offence charged.”
The appellate court has given the defence team an hour to prepare their arguments for mitigation before sentencing. Sodomy is an offence punishable by a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years of jail, and whipping, although Anwar’s age discounts him from being whipped.
Immediately after the court made its ruling, a shocked Anwar, 67, was seen comforting his daughter Nurul Izzah. Both Nurul and her mother Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail were in tears.
He later told reporters: “It’s all over again after 15 years. They want to put me in the lockup. That’s why they want to go ahead with the mitigation.”
Anwar was acquitted by the High Court judge Mohd Zabidin on Jan 9, 2012 of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008 at the Desa Damansara condominium.
Anwar needs to obtain a stay of proceedings to remain legible to contest in the March 23 Kajang by-election.
Meanwhile the police are beefing up security at the court complex with more Anwar supporters started arriving at the Palace of Justice to show their support for the PKR leader.
About 100 extra police personnel had been stationed at the court complex to support the Light Strike Force unit which had been there since morning.
The court later sentenced Anwar to five years jail. However it allowed him a stay of sentencing pending a further appeal, and granted him a RM10,000 bail.
By Anisah Shukry
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