Appellate court reinstates gov't in suit by Altantuya's family

The Court of Appeal has reinstated the government as a defendant in the RM100 million suit filed by Shaariibuu Setev and his grandchildren over the death of Mongolian translator and model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

The three-member bench led by Justice Mohd Zawawi Mohd Salleh agreed with the submissions presented by Setev's lawyers, Sangeet Kaur Deo and Ramkarpal Singh, that there are issues to be tried.

The other two judges were Justices Vernon Ong and Ahmadi Asnawi.

After the unanimous decision, the judges allowed costs of RM1,000 to be paid by the government.

With today's decision, the defendants in the suit would remain, namely Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and the government.

The government was represented by senior federal counsel Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud.

The hearing of the civil suit is expected to begin in May.

In August last year, the High Court in Shah Alam allowed the government's application to strike out the suit filed on the grounds that the suit did not disclose a reasonable cause of action. 

The suit was filed in 2007 by Setev and Altantuya's two children, Mungunshagai Bayarjargal and Altanshagai Munkhtulga.

Altantuya was murdered in October 2006 at a secluded forest in Puncak Alam, near Shah Alam. Azilah and Sirul were found guilty and sentenced to death.

However, Sirul fled to Australia before the verdict by the Federal Court was delivered in 2015.

He was arrested by the Australian authorities and still remains at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney. -Mkini