Former police chief Abdul Rahim Noor yesterday denied attempting to cause grievous hurt to Anwar Ibrahim, after being charged in relation to an assault on the former deputy prime minister who was blindfolded and handcuffed in custody at the time.
Anwar returns to court next week to face a count of sodomy at a hearing that is expected to provide a guide to prosecution plans for the six charges still pending against him following his corruption trial.
Rahim Noor, who quit his job in January and had admitted in February to hitting Anwar, is the first former police chief in Malaysia to face criminal action.
The September beating of Anwar, who was sentenced last week to six years in jail for corruption, triggered international outrage.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad came under international criticism last year when he said Anwar, who received a black eye in the beating, might have inflicted the injuries on himself.
Dr Mahathir said yesterday that despite the indictment of Rahim Noor, both he and Malaysia would still be criticised by outsiders.
'Those who have made up their minds that this is a rotten country will continue to say so,' he said.