Cousin tells of last phone call

Day 5:Altantuya Murder Trial 

THE final words murder victim Altantuya Shaariibuu uttered to her cousin were that she was “outside Razak's house”. 

Namiraa Gerelmaa, 23, told the High Court yesterday that Altantuya managed to say those words before the line was abruptly cut off. 

Namiraa Gerelmaa,Altantuya’s cousin, said Altantuyahad called her to say that she was‘outside Razak’s house’ before theline was abruptly cut off. —KEVIN TAN / The Star

Namiraa, who is Altantuya's second cousin, then said she could not get through to the victim despite continuous attempts. The Mongolian is the prosecution’s third witness.  

Namiraa said she, Altantuya and the latter’s friend Uuriintuya Gal-Ochir, had gone to Abdul Razak’s house in Jalan Setiajaya, Damansara Heights in a taxi that evening because Altantuya had wanted to go there. 

When they reached Razak’s house, she said the political analyst’s private investigator P. Balasubramaniam was outside the house. 

“Altantuya asked whether Razak was inside and Bala said, ‘No’. So we left the place,” she said. 

When they reached their hotel, she said Altantuya wanted to return to Razak’s house. 

“She told us maybe Razak would be in the house now. She said: ‘I will go back there to wish him Happy Deepavali'.”  

Namiraa added that Altantuya had asked her and Uuriintuya to stay back in the hotel while she left in the taxi, at about 9pm. 

“Once we got into our hotel room, Altantuya made a call to our room. I answered the call. She said she was now outside of Razak’s house. Then, the phone line was cut off,” she said. 

Namiraa said Uuriintuya had earlier tried to stop Altantuya from going but she insisted that if she were to go alone, she would be able to see Abdul Razak. 

“I never heard from Altantuya after that. We tried to call her but could not get through,” she said, adding that Altantuya had that morning given her a list of numbers and names to call “if anything were to happen to her”.  

She said she then called Balasubramaniam and asked him where Altantuya was but he replied that he did not know. She also tried calling Balasubramaniam’s assistant, Suras Kumar, but could not get through. 

“Finally at midnight, we told our hotel manager about it. She advised us to call Mr Ang (Chong Beng, a private eye hired by Altantuya) for help,” she said.  

Namiraa lodged a report at the Jalan Bandar police station the next day. 

When the report was shown and explained to her in Mongol yesterday, she disputed some of the information in it. 

She said the report stated that she came here on Oct 6 when she actually arrived on Oct 8 last year. It also said that Altantuya was her friend when she was actually her cousin. 

Namiraa also denied ever saying that Altantuya had received a call from an Indian man who told her that her husband had asked her to go to his house in Damansara Heights. 

She also denied using words like Altantuya's husband's house, and that Altantuya had married Abdul Razak. 

She said the only correct parts were those stating that she had tried in vain to contact Altantuya on the handphone and that she was worried that something bad had happened to her. 

Namiraa, who is unemployed and had just given birth, said she only learnt of Altantuya's death from the television in Mongolia. 

She said while she and Uuriintuya had come here to pursue a language course, she said Altantuya had told her that she wanted to see somebody here. 

She added that Altantuya took her and Uuriintuya to a building near KLCC because she wanted to see someone there. 

Asked by DPP Manoj Kurup, Namiraa said the “someone” was “Razak Baginda”.  

 

Altantuya trial: Full coverage 

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