Yusoff, man suing PM for sex assault, charged with non-bailable offence after drugs, guns found in car

Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, the man who is awaiting trying for his sexual assault suit against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, today appeared in court after about a week in police custody over accusations trafficking drugs.

Sporting a thick beard,Yusoff, the grandson of the late Penang consumer advocate SM Mohamed Idris, was escorted to the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court by two masked policemen.

The 31-year-old Yusoff has denied knowing anything about two pistols and 305g of ganja found in his car.

He is charged under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, a non-bailable offence which carries a life sentence if convicted.

According to his lawyer Rafique Rashid, Yusoff insisted that the guns and drugs were planted in his car by people "who harboured a grudge or enmity against him".

"Yusoff is concerned for his safety, not to mention that his civil cases involving influential people are still ongoing. These cases have their own sensitivities.

"Yusoff's family stands firmly by his side and hopes that the police will carry out their duties professionally," Rafique had said yesterday.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has set June 16 next year as the trial date for Yusoff's sexual assault case against Anwar.

On July 14,2021, Yusoff, who worked as Anwar's research assistant at the politician's bungalow office in Petaling Jaya in 2018, filed the suit alleging that the PKR leader sexually assaulted him in October that year, days before he won the Port Dickson by-election.

Anwar in response claimed that Yusoff had lied under oath to the authorities regarding the sexual assault.

Yusoff has filed a separate suit against Anwar's former political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, claiming damages for the injuries he suffered after he was assaulted at Anwar’s bungalow office in Bukit Gasing, Petaling Jaya.

In October 2022, the Shah Alam Sessions Court ordered Anwar's press secretary, Tunku Nashrul Tunku Abaidah, to pay Yusoff RM200,000 in damages for statements made in connection with the assault on Farhash.