Najib 'forced' me to use Shafee as my lawyer, Deepak says

Carpet businessperson Deepak Jaikishian lodged a police report last night against his former lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and former Tabung Haji chairperson Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, alleging their interference in the suit filed by the widow of P Balasubramaniam over the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Deepak lodged the report at the Dang Wangi police station, alleging that he was forced to take Shafee as his lawyer on the instruction of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"Shafee was engaged by Najib to represent me in this suit against my wishes."

"Shafee was forced upon me by the sheer might of the former prime minister and his family, who used government departments and government-linked financial institutions to pressure me to succumb to their demands through intimidations and threats," he said in the report sighted by Malaysiakini.

According to Deepak, Shafee and Azeez had acted on Najib's instructions and prevented him from being cross-examined over his conflicting defence statements on three occasions –  March 19, March 27 and April 13.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had on Feb 6 allowed him to be cross-examined over the defence statements – one which he gave to Americk Sidhu, the lawyer of the widow A Santhamil Selvi on Oct 26 last year, and another filed by Shafee's firm on Nov 7.

In his first defence statement, he affirmed that "the truth of what actually transpired which clearly implicates Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor in the Altantuya murder case."

Deepak alleged that he was forced by Shafee to be admitted to a government hospital (on March 19), a private hospital (March 27) and a private hospital in New Delhi (April 13).

He further claimed that just before the March 19 cross-examination, Shafee asked him not to appear in court as he did not want to give false testimony during the cross-examination.

The businessperson termed Shafee's claim in court that his client had come to his office and vomited blood – which landed him in the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Cheras – "a blatant lie."

Before the March 27 court date, Deepak claimed he was forced to be admitted to a private hospital to avoid testifying.

And on the third occasion, he said that Azeez forced him to meet Shafee, where it was suggested that he go overseas to India for a medical check-up.

In his police report, Deepak stated that he has audio and visual recordings to show that Shafee and Azeez attempted to pervert the course of justice.

Malaysiakini is attempting to contact Shafee for comment.

After BN's loss in the May 9 polls, the businessperson discharged Shafee and engaged a new lawyer, RK Nathan.

Deepak had previously stated that despite Najib, Rosmah, two of Najib's siblings and four others managing to get Santhamil's suit struck out, he would bring all the defendants back to court as third-party claimants.

The High Court has also accepted first defence statement.

Deepak is seen as a conduit in the retraction of Balasubramaniam's statutory declaration on July 4, 2008 regarding Altantuya's murder. - Mkini