Appeals court cuts damages in Altantuya family suit to RM1.38mil

Court of Appeal says the High Court erred in awarding RM5 million in damages to the Mongolian woman's family.

In 2006, Altantuya Shaariibuu’s body was blown up with explosives after she was shot in the head in a forested area in Puncak Alam, near Shah Alam. (File pic)

PUTRAJAYA:

 The Court of Appeal today reduced the damages awarded to the family of murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu from RM5 million to RM1.38 million in their lawsuit against political analyst Razak Baginda and two former policemen over her death in 2006.

Altantuya’s parents, Shaariibuu Setev and Altantsetseg Sanjaa, together with her son Mungunshagai, had sued the government, Razak and former policemen Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri, alleging a conspiracy surrounding her murder.

In delivering the decision, Chief Judge of Malaya Hashim Hamzah said the High Court had erred in law in awarding the original RM5 million damages.

He also ruled that the government was not vicariously liable for the actions of Sirul and Azilah, on the grounds that they were not performing their official duties at the time of the murder.

The judgment was delivered by a panel comprising Hashim and Justices Azman Abdullah and K Muniandy. - FMT

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