SHAH ALAM: A policeman who was convicted of murdering Altantuya Shaariibuu had pointed to investigators the spot in Puncak Alam where her body was blasted with explosives, the High Court heard today.
Police officer Koh Fei Cheow, who is the 15th witness, said Azilah Hadri had led the police to the crime scene after he volunteered the information during questioning on Nov 6, 2006, at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.
Testifying in a civil suit brought by Altantuya’s family members, Koh, who was then with the Serious Crimes Unit, said he and three rank-and-file policemen then went with Azilah to Puncak Alam.
“We took him to the place to determine the exact location of the crime scene described by him,” Koh said when questioned by lawyer Harshaan Zamani.
Koh said he and his team had to stop several times on the way to the scene as Azilah was unsure of the exact location. He said they finally reached the place at about 6.50pm.
They then stopped at an open space and Azilah was allowed to observe the area before leading them to the crime scene.
“This is the place the Mongolian woman was blasted,” Koh quoted Azilah as saying, in his testimony before High Court Judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Koh said he then inspected the site and discovered bone fragments, believed to be that of a human.
“I also saw burnt and dead trees.”
He said Azilah then led them to another open space about 30 feet from the location where Altantuya’s body was blown up.
Koh said Azilah told him: “This is the spot where the Mongolian woman was shot.”
Yesterday, the court was told that another policeman, Sirul Azhar Umar, who was also found guilty of Altantuya’s murder, had admitted to a policeman that he shot her and had pointed out the spot where her body was blown up.
Another police officer, Zulkarnain Samsudin, said Sirul revealed the said spot when he was escorted to the murder site in Puncak Alam.
Altantuya’s father, Setev, his wife, Altantsetseg Sanjaa, and Altantuya’s son, Mungunshagai Bayarjargal, have named political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, the government as well as Sirul and Azilah as defendants in the suit.
The family, which alleges conspiracy in Altantuya’s murder, is seeking RM100 million in damages, including dependency claims.
Altantuya, 28, an interpreter, was murdered between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006 and 11am the following day in the jungles of Puncak Alam. She was shot in the head before her body was blown up with explosives.
Razak, who was an aide to then-deputy prime minister Najib Razak, was charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul, but he was later acquitted without his defence being called.
Sirul and Azilah, who were part of the police’s Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK), were convicted in 2009 by the High Court of killing Altantuya.
They succeeded in overturning their conviction at the Court of Appeal in 2013, but the Federal Court in 2015 restored their conviction and sentenced them to death. Sirul fled to Australia before the final verdict.
Neither Sirul, who is being held at an Australian detention centre, nor Azilah, who is on death row at Kajang Prison, have challenged the suit.
Hearing was adjourned to Jan 27. - FMT
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