Friday verdict on Altantuya murder appeal
(BERNAMA) – The Court of Appeal here will deliver on Friday, its decision on the appeal by two former police special action unit personnel who were convicted for the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.
When contacted, lawyer Hazman Ahmad, who is representing former chief inspector Azilah Hadri, said he received a notice from the Court of Appeal’s registrar, notifying the judgment date.
Azilah, 34, and former corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 39, were convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court in Shah Alam in 2009, for murdering Altantuya, 28, at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19, and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.
Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, who was charged with abetting them, was acquitted by the High Court on Oct 31, 2008 after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
The Court of Appeal’s three-member panel comprising justices Mohamed Apandi Ali, Linton Albert and Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, heard their appeals for two days, from June 24 this year, and have reserved their judgment.
At the hearing, Hazman and Sirul Azhar’s lawyer, Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, submitted that the trial judge had seriously erred in law and facts in convicting the duo.
During the appeal, Kamarul had contended the failure by the prosecution to call Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri to testify in the trial, constituted a mistrial.
Meanwhile, Hazman had argued that Azilah did not have possession and control of the C-4 explosives allegedly used in the woman’s murder.
The trial heard that Altantuya was shot before her body was blown up with C-4 explosives.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah had submitted that there was nothing to link Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to the death of Altantuya.
He had said, one could not simply make accusations or attribute anything whatsoever to Najib who was then the deputy prime minister (DPM), just because Abdul Razak happened to know him (Najib) and Musa happened to be aide-de-camp to the DPM at that time.
