IGP: No grounds yet to reopen Altantuya murder investigation

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman has not reopened the Altantuya Shariibuu murder case as there were no grounds to do so, says Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun.

The Inspector-General of Police said so far there have been no new police reports lodged on the matter.

"We have not found any grounds to reopen investigations," he told a press conference in Bukit Aman on Friday.

Mongolian model Altantuya, 28, is believed to have been shot dead before her body was blown to bits with explosives at a secondary forest near the Subang Dam in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam in 2006.

Two former policemen, Sirul Azhar Umar and accomplice Azilah Hadri, were convicted of murdering her in 2009 and sentenced to death, although the Court of Appeal overturned this in 2013.

On the prosecution's appeal, the Federal Court upheld their death sentences but by then Sirul had fled to Australia.

Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged together with them, was freed on Oct 31, 2008, after the court found no concrete evidence against him.

Recently, when Pakatan Harapan took over the Federal Government after GE14, PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim suggested that Sirul be brought back to Malaysia for a fresh trial.

Sirul has said he is willing to reveal what happened in the case if he is given a full pardon to return to Malaysia.

After Pakatan's election victory, Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga wrote a letter urging newly sworn-in Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to help bring justice.

"As the President of Mongolia, I pay special attention to the grave crime committed in Malaysia on Oct 18, 2006 – the murder of Ms Shariibuu Altantuya, a Mongolian national and a mother of two children," Battulga said in a letter to Dr Mahathir.