Baginda's written judgment: Too many trails leading directly to Najib swept under the rug

PKR leaders slammed the Attorney General for refusing to appeal against the acquittal of Razak Baginda, the close friend of Prime Minister Najib Razak, charged for abetting the murder of Mongolian nation Altantuya Shaaribuu.

"It is amazing how Gani Patail (the Attorney General) refused to appeal such a controversial decision. More than the two cops who have been sentenced to hang, there was strong motive on Baginda's part to kill Altantuya. Whether Baginda did really abet the murder or not would have been best assessed in a trial by calling for his defense. Why was this not done - was it to help shield certain politicians in Umno?" PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Yet, we see in other clear-cut cases of flimsy evidence such as the Bersih protesters and the sodomy trial of Anwar Ibrahim, Gani rushes to appeal. Is it because it benefits Umno for these people to be found guilty? It has become a big joke and makes the Malaysian judiciary a laughing stock. The more they conspire, the more it bolsters the suspicions of the people and the international community that Najib is part and parcel of the Altantuya murder."

Slanted trial with clear intention to shield 'someone'

Judge Mohd Zaki Md Yasin had just a day ago finally released the written judgment of his 2008 decision not to call for Baginda's defence. The much-disputed ruling had sparked criticism that the judiciary was bowing to wishes of the politicians of the day. Najib was then deputy prime minister and due to take over from Abdullah Badawi, which he did in April 3, 2009 despite the question mark on his involvement in the murder.

From day one, the trial against two of Najib's former bodyguards and Baginda, who were charged for killing Altanutya and blowing up her body with explosives in a jungle clearing in Selangor state in 2006, was clearly slanted. Recent US cables from the KL mission to Washington as revealed on WikiLeaks showed that US observers following the trial had been aghast at the quality of the justice meted out.

Portions of police statements wherein one of the accused had said he was paid to kill Altantuya was ignored. Defense lawyers were also prevented from asking certain questions touching on the motive for the killing, which is glaring given that both men were special squad cops at that time and only met Altantuya on the night of her murder.In other words, they had no motive of their own to kill Altantuya.

Neither were there any attempts made by the prosecution to ask who had offered to pay the cops to kill Altantuya, and any questioning in this line by the defense was deftly deflected by the judge. The two cops had said they were introduced to Baginda by Najib's aide-de-camp Musa Safri, who told them to help Baginda over the Altantuya harassment problem. Yet, no attempts were made by the prosecution to call Musa as a witness, despite his being a key figure. Was this because he was too close to Najib, pundits have asked.

It must also be noted that Malaysian immigration records had startled the nation when it was revealed that the authorities had no record at all of Altantuya ever entering the country, again boosting the suspicion that someone 'high-up' was involved and a cover-up in progress.

Former lover, blackmail, corruption, covering up for Najib - isn't this motive?

From her letters, it is clear Altantuya had been blackmailing Baginda. A private investigator P Balasubramaniam also hired by Baginda to keep Altanutya away from him and his family has said she came to Malaysia to collect her portion of a USD500,000 bribe allegedly paid corruptly by French arms giants DCN to Najib, for sealing a deal to purchase 2 Scorpene submarines in 2002. Altanutya had been involved in the negotiations carried out by Baginda, a former ministry of defence lecturer.

Baginda has also admitted Altantuya was his lover and had indeed been blackmailing him - two factors that form the strongest motive amongst the trio for wanting to kill her. Shortly after the acquittal, Baginda immediately left overseas for London. The two cops, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, were later sentenced to hang in April 2009 but are still on death row pending an appeal hearing that has been conspicuously delayed.

Perhaps the 'consolation' in the issuance of the written judgment - which is bound to be hotly challenged by a disgusted legal fraternity - is that it may help to speed up the appeal hearing. However, for that to happen, the written judgments for both Azilah and Sirul would also have to be issued. March 9 has been fixed as the next case management date to enable Azilah's lawyer, J Kuldeep Kumar, to obtain a complete set of records.

Did Najib issue any orders?

In his written judgement, Judge Mohd Zaki said there was no prima facie case to answer a charge of abetting two Special Action Squad officers. He said the notes written Baginda and Azilah's bag with Baginda's full residential address, together with the name of his father, Abdullah Malim Baginda, were wholly consistent with an innocent man asking for assistance from the police to patrol the vicinity of his house given Altantuya's harassment and threats.

Pundits have however questioned, why did the learned judge not wonder, how come two ranking and elite cops were detailed for a routine job when regular cops could have been deployed. They also asked why did the Judge not request for further information from Musa Safri, and whether Najib had ordered his aide-de-camp to help Baginda, and why?

In his 70-page judgment, Mohd Zaki also said that even if Baginda could be inferred as having any "motive" in the light of Altantuya's blackmailing letters, it was still insufficient as a basis for his conviction.

"I am satisfied that there is no prima facie for him to answer his charge. I, accordingly, find the third accused not guilty and order him to be acquitted and discharged," he said in his judgment made available to the media.

Malaysia Chronicle