THE Federal Court will hear Altantuya Shaariibuu family’s bid to challenge a decision that cut the damages awarded over the Mongolian model’s death, with the matter now fixed for Oct 27.
The family is seeking leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s ruling in January, which reduced the compensation from RM5 million to RM1.4 million and ruled that the government was not liable for the actions of two former police officers convicted in the case.
The application, filed on Feb 19, seeks to revive the family’s challenge against the appellate court’s decision in their civil suit, which was launched more than a decade ago following Altantuya’s death in 2006.
The suit named political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, former police officers Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, as well as the government, as defendants.
The family had initially sought RM100 million in damages, citing the emotional and psychological impact caused by Altantuya’s death.
The Shah Alam High Court in 2022 awarded RM5 million in damages to the family, finding all defendants liable.
However, the Court of Appeal later overturned part of that decision, ruling that the government could not be held vicariously responsible for the actions of Azilah and Sirul Azhar, who were police personnel at the time of the incident.
Abraham Au, who represents Abdul Razak, confirmed that the hearing previously scheduled for today was vacated before the court fixed the new date.
Azilah and Sirul Azhar were convicted of murdering Altantuya in 2009. Although the Court of Appeal had earlier acquitted them, the Federal Court restored their convictions in 2015.
Azilah’s death sentence was later commuted to 40 years’ imprisonment in 2023 after the Federal Court allowed his application under the Revision of Death Penalty and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023. – July 15, 2026
