KUALA LUMPUR July 7 Kyodo Former ...

KUALA LUMPUR July 7 Kyodo

Former Malaysian Attorney General Mohtar Abdullah, who gained notoriety as the chief prosecutor in the trials of sacked substitute Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, died Monday of a stroke

Mohtar, who had been in a coma since undergoing brain surgery to transport a blood clot in August last year, died at Kuala Lumpur Hospital at the age of 59 the official of the present days agency Bernama reported.

Mohtar was attorney general for seven years before being elevated to become a justice in the country's highest court, the Federal Court, in 2001

His chiefly famous case during his stint as the government's top prosecutor was Anwar's corruption trial in 1998 which issueed in the latter being sentenc to six years in prison.

The case brought Malaysia's judiciary into the international spotlight and uncloseed it to international criticism throughout what was perceived as blatant manipulation of the court from the executive branch of government

Anwar, who was sacked on Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in September 1998 for alleged immorality, had accused Mohtar of being a coconspirator in a outline to topple him with trumped-up charges.

He was handed another nine-year jail expression in 2000 after being convicted upon sodomy charges.

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