From:
Date: 29 Sep 1999
Time: 00:53:31
Anwar accuser jailed for illicit sex
Mr Anwar is currently serving a six-year jail term for corruption
The man who accused the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, of sodomy has himself been found guilty of sexual misconduct.
Azizan Abu Bakar, who was Mr Anwar's former driver, was sentenced by an Islamic court in the southern city of Malacca to three months in jail for attempting to have illicit sex with a woman.
The couple were caught earlier this month when the police and religious officials raided a rented house and found them together in the middle of the night.
The state-run news agency reported their arrest in detail, saying Mr Azizan was discovered only wearing a sarong, while the woman was in a nightdress, with no underwear.
The couple married two days after the incident, but that did not prevent them both being convicted of "close proximity" and sent to prison.
Key witness
Mr Anwar's supporters have returned to the streets in recent weeks Mr Azizan has been the key prosecution witness in the sodomy trial against Mr Anwar who is currently serving a six-year sentence for corruption.
The former driver accused Mr Anwar of repeatedly sodomising him.
Lawyers for Mr Anwar have already said they plan to recall Mr Azizan to the stand, but it is not clear what impact his jailing will have on the sodomy trial which was adjourned again on Tuesday after doctors said Mr Anwar needed rest.
The former deputy prime minister has been in hospital since complaining two weeks ago of attempts to poison him with arsenic.
The decision was made by High Court Judge Ariffin Jaka after Mr Anwar briefly appeared in court on Monday with a hospital nurse and following a suspension of more than two weeks.
Mr Anwar's defence lawyer said the former finance minister needed two or three days' more rest in hospital after suffering severe headaches and high blood pressure.
Test results
His legal team is waiting for test results from laboratories in Australia, Britain and Malaysia.
"Anwar will still be at the hospital for at least a week," defence lawyer Christopher Fernando said, adding that his client was much improved and was now able to walk steadily after lying in bed most of the time.
Mr Anwar, who is serving a six-year sentence for corruption, and is standing trial on charges of sodomy, says an Australian laboratory found a dangerously high level of arsenic in his urine.