Citing allergies and upcoming suit against Anwar, lawyers seek prison's assurance on Yusoff's safety

The lawyer for Muhammed Yusoff Rawther - who is currently on remand after being charged with drug trafficking - has appealed to prison authorities to ensure his client's well-being, citing food allergies and an upcoming trial for his sexual assault suit against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In a letter to the director Sungai Buloh Prison today, Rafique Rashid asked for assurances of his client's health and safety in jail.

He also hoped that authorities could exercise discretion and place Yusoff in the prison clinic so that his health could be monitored more closely and his dietary needs met.

"Our client cannot consume foods containing lactose, gluten or seafood due to severe allergies," Rafique said in the letter sent by his law firm, adding that Yusoff was also allergic to spicy foods, especially those containing chilli.

"Failure to adhere to this diet may adversely affect our client's health and endanger his life."

Rafique also referred to Yusoff's civil suit against Anwar, which is scheduled to be heard at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in June next year.

"Therefore, it is important that our client's safety is ensured throughout his detention so that he can attend the trial without any health or security issues," he added.

Yusoff, 31, was arrested on Sept 6 after police said they found two pistols and 305g of cannabis in his car parked outside the Dang Wangi police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, according to the charge sheet.

He was charged yesterday under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, a non-bailable offence punishable with life imprisonment if convicted.

Yusoff, who sported a thick beard, was led to court by two masked police officers and was heard hurling insults at Anwar.

He has denied any knowledge about the guns and drugs the police claim to have found in his car, believing  they were planted by people harbouring a grudge against him.

"Interestingly, Yusoff said: 'I am innocent, this is due to someone in power'," Rafique told reporters outside the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court yesterday.

Yusoff and his family members have lodged two police reports containing names of individuals to be investigated, but police have yet to make any statement on the status of the reports.

On July 14, 2021, Yusoff, who worked as Anwar's research assistant at the politician's bungalow office in Petaling Jaya in 2018, filed a suit alleging that the PKR leader sexually assaulted him in October that year, days before he won the Port Dickson by-election after serving a ban on active politics due to a previous conviction for sodomy.

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.