I'm framed by those in power, says man suing PM for sex assault amid firearms charge

The 31-year-old man who is suing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for sexual assault was again brought to court today, this time for possession of imitation weapons under the Firearms Act.

Yusoff Rawther, who last month asked police to investigate several people who he said had planted drugs in his car, pleaded not guilty to a charge under Section 36 of the Act, facing a imprisonment of up to a year, fine of up to RM5,000 or both.

"I am framed by those in power," he told judge S Mageswary at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrates Court today. 

According to the charge sheet, two imitation pistols were found "near the Sanada Kiara condominium" in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.

Yusoff,  the grandson of the late Penang consumer advocate SM Mohamed Idris, 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 a week later under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, a non-bailable offence punishable with life imprisonment if convicted.

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.

His lawyer Rafique Rashid said Yusoff told him that he was innocent and that the "this is due to someone in power".

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.