Witness: Najib not involved
By M. MAGESWARI (The Star)
PETALING JAYA: A chief investigator repeatedly denied yesterday that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was involved in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu during cross-examination in the sedition trial of Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin.
Supt Gan Tack Guan made the denial when Raja Petra’s counsel Gobind Singh Deo tried to link the deputy prime minister to the murder.
Supt Gan, 50, who is Interpol’s National Centre Bureau assistant director based at Bukit Aman, said a statement was not taken from Najib as he was not involved in the murder.
When pressed further by Gobind Singh, he said Najib was an important witness.
“It is my opinion that every witness is important. We have seen his connections. Najib is not involved in this case,” said Supt Gan, who is also a complainant in the sedition trial.
When asked if it was not important to record a statement from Najib when he was considered an important witness, Supt Gan said Najib had been slandered.
Asked how he knew Najib was not involved in the murder although the Deputy Prime Minister was among four people implicated in Altantuya’s murder, Supt Gan said he had the chance to study the investigation papers.
“I am the supervisor for the investigations of the Altantuya case. I had a team of investigators to assist (investigating officer) Asst Supt Tonny Lunggan for the case. Investigations revealed that Najib is not involved,” he testified at a Sessions Court here.
Raja Petra, the Malaysia Today editor and former ISA detainee, had on May 6 last year claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on the news portal on April 25.
Raja Petra, 59, is accused of publishing the article Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell in www.malaysia-today.net website.
The article is alleged to have contained nine paragraphs of seditious words.
The editor is said to have committed the offence at his house on Jalan BRP 5/5 in Bukit Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh.
When Gobind Singh suggested that police knew that Najib was involved in the murder but did not have the guts to reveal this in their investigations as he was the deputy prime minister, Gan disagreed. He denied that he was not in the position to substantiate his police report against Raja Petra.
“Actually I lodged a police report (against Raja Petra) as certain contents of the article were simply fabricated,” he said.
To a question, he said he did not underline the paragraphs of the alleged seditious article.
He disagreed with the suggestion that it was not his decision to lodge a police report against Raja Petra and that it was politically motivated.
Supt Gan also admitted that three accused persons in the Altantuya murder trial had denied killing her.
He agreed that police investigations had revealed that two policemen implicated in her murder trial at Shah Alam High Court had murdered Altantuya. He agreed that one area of police investigations was that the two policemen had been paid to murder her.
He disagreed that there were paragraphs in the article which were fair comment and factual.
When asked if Altantuya could be the seventh victim in light of Abdul Razak Baginda’s affidavit which was affirmed on Jan 4, 2007, he agreed. He said he had read Razak’s affidavit but did not investigate its contents.
The hearing before Sessions Court judge Rozina Ayob will continue on Thursday.
