Forty years imprisonment for Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murderer is fair and acceptable, the family’s lawyer said.
Sangeet Kaur Deo said that the victim’s father Shaariibuu Setev is a strong believer in the sanctity of human life.
The counsel said that the father sent a letter in support of Azilah Hadri swapping his death sentence with jail time, to her back in August and she later shared the letter with the lawyers of the former police commando, who was found guilty of the Mongolian woman’s murder in 2006.
The Federal Court earlier today commuted Azilah’s death sentence to 40 years in jail and 12 rotan strokes. His lawyer J Kuldeep Kumar relied on the letter for the penalty review bid.
“My client (Shaariibuu) is acting according to his conscience.
“Forty years is fair and acceptable to the family in regard to the offence he (Azilah) committed,” Sangeet (above) told the media at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya this afternoon.
The lawyer said that Altantuya’s family does not agree with the death penalty.
"His (Shaariibuu’s) deep respect for the sanctity of life compels his support for commuting Azilah’s death sentence to life imprisonment.
"He believes that the right to life is fundamental, a principle that allows for reflection and the hope for change, even amid difficult truths," Sangeet said over her client's compassion.
‘Relieved’
When speaking to reporters outside the apex court, Kuldeep said Azilah was “relieved” at the outcome.
The counsel explained that today’s proceedings marked the first time a convict had received such a supporting letter from the victim’s family for a review bid.
Kuldeep said Azilah would likely finish serving his jail sentence “in 2034, after remission,” as it is to run from the date of his arrest on Nov 1, 2006.
Altantuya, 28, was murdered in a deserted area in Shah Alam, Selangor, in October 2006. Her remains were blown up with military-grade explosives.
In April 2009, the Shah Alam High Court found Azilah, 48, and fellow police commando Sirul Azhar Umar guilty of Altantuya’s murder and sentenced them to death.
Sirul, however, flew to Australia before the Federal Court reversed an earlier Court of Appeal verdict that discharged and acquitted the two men and reinstated their conviction and death sentence in 2015.
For overstaying a tourist visa, Australian authorities detained Sirul. Australia has a policy of not deporting individuals facing the death penalty in their country of origin.
In November last year, the 52-year-old was released from immigration detention and is understood to still be in Australia.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, who objected to the review, appeared for the prosecution.
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