PM backs fresh Altantuya murder probe

PUTRAJAYA: The Prime Minister has given his support to the reopening of the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.

This follows a police report lodged by Dr Shaariibuu Setev yesterday, seeking a fresh probe.

Among others, Dr Setev wants to know who gave the order and the motive behind her daughter’s killing.

At a meeting here with Dr Setev and the family’s lawyer Ramkarpal Singh, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad agreed that the 12-year-old case should be relooked into.

“He agreed that it is a case that warrants further investigations in accordance with the rule of law.

“We agree with him on this and have started the due process, including meeting the Attorney General on Tuesday.

“It was a very satisfactory meeting. The Prime Minister also spoke in detail with Dr Setev,” Ramkarpal told reporters.

Besides Dr Setev and Ramkarpal, also present were a Mongolian translator and a representative from the Mongolian consulate.

Dr Setev said Mongolian president Battulga Khaltmaa had spoken to him over the phone to thank Dr Mahathir.

Earlier at the Dang Wangi police headquarters, Ramkarpal said the report was to request the police to reopen the murder case.

“It is an ordinary police report. If there are new leads in the case, the police will look at them in their investigations.

“If others are found to have been involved in the murder, they will also be prosecuted,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Ramkarpal also said the police should have called Deputy Supt Musa Safri, a former aide-de-camp of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, as a witness during the murder trial.

“DSP Musa was a key witness and this should have been considered during the trial. Why was he not called? It was related to the important matter of the motive,” he said.

Ramkarpal said Dr Setev had yet to give any statement to the police.

Altantuya is believed to have been killed and her body blown up with explosives at a secondary jungle in Mukim Bukit Raja, Klang, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

In 2009, former police Special Action Unit members Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri were found guilty of Altantuya’s murder.

The Court of Appeal overturned their sentences in 2013 but upon the prosecution’s appeal, they were upheld by the Federal Court.

However, Sirul fled to Australia where he was detained by the Australian Immigration in Sydney after Interpol issued a red notice.

He has been at a detention centre since 2015, hoping to get asylum.