KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Police have slammed a news portal report which claimed a private hospital doctor who had examined Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan had been arrested.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the article in Malaysia Today was just an attempt by certain quarters to confuse the public.

"We interviewed the doctor in the early stages of our investigations following the police report lodged by Mohd Saiful.

"But we did not arrest the doctor or detain him for three days as alleged by the Malaysia Today report. We don't have any plans to do so either," he said, adding that a report would be lodged against Malaysia Today.

In the article, it was also alleged the doctor did not find any indication that Mohd Saiful had been sodomised.

Ismail, however, declined to comment further, including allegations in the article that police had attempted to force the doctor, a Myanmar Muslim, to fabricate his medical report when he found no evidence of sodomy.

Malaysia Today said that Mohd Saiful had visited a private hospital at 2pm on June 28 after complaining of pain when passing motion.

The news portal also carried a scanned copy of the medical report, including the doctor's comments.

The copy of the medical report also included Saiful's comments of wanting to lodge a police report on the alleged sodomy.

Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said the integrity of professionals like doctors and lawyers must never be interfered with lest it erodes public confidence in the country's criminal justice system.

"The public must be left in no doubt that the criminal justice system in this country will not be misused or abused," said Ambiga over the latest medical report claim.

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