Who’s protecting Farhash, asks ex-Anwar officer amid delay in assault probe
The former research assistant of Anwar Ibrahim who accused the PKR leader and his aide of criminal acts in separate police reports is frustrated by the continued delay by the authorities on the outcome of investigations into the cases.
(FMT) – Yusoff Rawther also asked if Anwar’s political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, whom he accused of assaulting him last year, leaving him with shoulder injuries, enjoyed “protection”, saying he was still “walking free” despite investigations under Sections 323 and 506 of the Penal Code.
“Is he invincible and above the law?” Yusoff asked when contacted on the status of the case.
On May 12, FMT reported that police had submitted the investigation papers on the assault case to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), three months after the case was reopened.
Police had launched a fresh investigation in February, just days before the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government which saw Anwar’s PKR and its allies booted out of federal power.
Yusoff was summoned on Feb 20 by Petaling Jaya police to give a statement. About a week later, however, then-attorney-general Tommy Thomas resigned, saying he would not remain in office as PH, which appointed him, was no longer in power.
Farhash, the Perak PKR chief, has repeatedly rejected claims that he attacked Yusoff, who separately accused Anwar of sexual assault, at his private office on May 16, 2019.
A medical report from Pantai Hospital stated that Yusoff had injuries and a shoulder tear which would require a RM40,000 surgery.
Yusoff, who is the grandson of late Penang consumer activist SM Mohamed Idris, also filed a civil suit against Farhash in September, seeking compensation for his injuries.
Yusoff said he hoped Thomas’ successor, Attorney-General Idrus Harun, would act “without fear or favour”.
“It’s been more than a year since I lodged a police report and provided all the evidence. Why has no action been taken?” he asked.
He said he had written to Idrus and law minister Takiyuddin Hassan earlier this month, seeking to reopen the assault case as well as re-visit the sexual assault case involving Anwar.
Yusoff’s police report against Anwar late last year triggered a probe by Bukit Aman police under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which deals with using criminal force to outrage a person’s modesty.
The AGC however said it would not pursue the case against Anwar as there were “contradictions of material facts”.
In his letter to Idrus, Yusoff said he was baffled by the decision, adding that his case was no different from similar cases involving prominent personalities such as film producer Harvey Wienstein and comedian Bill Cosby.
He also said the excuse that there was no “corroborative facts” to his allegations was unacceptable.
“In all these cases, the evidence was only testimonies from witnesses on which the accused was convicted.
“These types of offences are almost all committed in private, and I understand that it is normal that corroborative evidence is not needed in the court’s decision.
“If such a limitation is placed, I believe many cases involving sexual harassment victims cannot be pursued and they will suffer in silence,” Yusoff told Idrus in his letter.
Yusoff also called for action against a police officer whom he accused of threatening him during the course of investigation into his allegations against Farhash.
“Who was responsible for that?” he added.
Yusoff had claimed that a Special Branch officer barged into the room at the Seapark police station in September last year, grabbed his file from the investigating officer, and asked: “Siapa suruh hang buat saman sivil, kan polis dok siasat?” (Who asked you to file a civil suit, aren’t the police already investigating?)
“He then left the room and I overheard him on the phone saying, ‘Jap, dia baru sampai, tengah tengok fail dia sekarang’ (Wait, he just arrived, seeing his files now),” Yusoff told FMT in January.
