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No evidence to attribute Altantuya’s case to the then-DPM, court told

PUTRAJAYA: There is no evidence to attribute the murder of Altan­tuya Shaariibuu to the then-deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the Court of Appeal heard.

Lead prosecutor Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah submitted that although former po­lit­i­cal an­a­lyst Ab­dul Razak Baginda knew both Najib and his aide-de-camp Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri, there was nothing to link the then-DPM to what the accused did.

Ab­dul Razak had been jointly charged along with two for­mer Spe­cial Ac­tion Unit per­son­nel mem­bers over the murder of the Mongolian woman.

He was ac­quit­ted by the High Court on Oct 31, 2008, after the pros­e­cu­tion failed to es­tab­lish a prima fa­cie case against him.

“One cannot simply make an accusation or attribute anything to the then-DPM.

“A person is charged in court based on real evidence, not on imaginary evidence,” said Abdul Majid, who is also Deputy Solicitor General II.

He also argued that despite the Shah Alam High Court’s choice not to address several issues raised during the trial, there was sufficient evidence to send those accused of her murder to the gallows.

He rebuked the defence’s submission that the failure to call DSP Musa amounted to suppression of evidence. “As DSP Musa was not in the meeting between the accused and Ab­dul Razak, Musa would not know whatever transpired there. Hence, there is no relevance to call him,” said Abdul Majid.

In 2009, Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar and C/Insp Azi­lah Hadri were convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court for killing Altantuya at Mukim Bukit Raja, Klang, be­tween 10pm on Oct 19, 2006, and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

Justice Linton Albert questioned the prosecution if the conviction against Kpl Sirul and C/Insp Azilah was safe in light of the issues in the High Court’s judgment.

Justice Mohamed Apandi, who led the three-person panel which included Justices Linton and Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, adjourned the case to a date to be fixed for decision.

– THE STAR

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