PUTRAJAYA – The family of murdered Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu today succeeded in their appeal at the Court of Appeal to obtain copies of police statements recorded in the course of the probe into her killing, to be used in their civil suit.
Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin, who led a three-judge bench, said the statements to be provided to the family include those taken from persons whether or not they were called up as prosecution witnesses, including statements by former policemen Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda.
“We order that copies of the Section 112 (of the Criminal Procedure Code) statements be provided to the appellant (Altantuya’s family) within two weeks of the date of this order.”
She said the police statements used in the criminal trial are not privileged documents.
The court does not see any danger of witness tampering in the present case, she said, as Azilah and Sirul Azhar’s criminal case have long concluded.
The bench, which also comprised Datuk Supang Lian and Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya, unanimously allowed the appeal brought by the family against the high court’s dismissal of their discovery application to obtain statements recorded from those investigated by police in the criminal case, to be used in their civil suit.
Altantuya’s parents Shaariibuu Setev and Altantsetseg Sanjaa, as well as her son Mungunshagai Bayarjargal, filed a RM100 million civil suit against Azilah, Sirul Azhar, Razak and the government on June 4, 2007, seeking exemplary and aggravated damages.
In their statement of claim, they said Altantuya’s death caused them mental shock and psychological trauma, entitling them to compensation.
In the court’s decision, which was delivered online, Nor Bee said Section 124 of the Evidence Act 1950 pertaining to the non-disclosure of recorded statements does not apply in the family’s case.
She said the Section 112 statements are necessary as the information contained in them will assist the family in advancing their case to prove Altantuya’s murder.
She said the court should be mindful of the practical reality that changes could have taken place since then, and that the possibility of the persons referred to not being traceable, or some having died, cannot be ruled out.
“The witnesses may refuse to be interviewed, and some may have problems in terms of their recollection of events.”
Azilah and Sirul Azhar were found guilty by the Shah Alam High Court in 2009 of Altantuya’s murder, while Razak, charged with conspiring with the duo to kill her, was acquitted of the charge in October 2008 without having to enter his defence.
On August 23, 2013, the Court of Appeal allowed Azilah and Sirul Azhar’s appeal and acquitted them, but this was overturned by the Federal Court on January 13, 2015, following the prosecution’s appeal.
Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo appeared for the family, while senior federal counsel Azliza Ali acted for the government. – Bernama, September 24, 2021
