KUALA LUMPUR: The family of Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered in 2006, has filed an application for leave to appeal at the Federal Court against the Court of Appeal’s decision in their civil suit.
The family's lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo said in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 24) that several questions of law from the civil proceedings would be raised, including questions relating to the scope of vicarious liability of the government, where acts of state agents result in the unlawful deprivation of life and the statutory framework governing damages in civil claims arising from unlawful killing.
“In light of the public importance of these issues, it is appropriate that they now be considered by the Federal Court, which will have the opportunity to clarify the law in this important area,” Sangeet said.
The case has been fixed for case management before Deputy Registrar Wan Norazmin Kassim on March 19.
On Jan 20, the Court of Appeal reduced the quantum of damages awarded to the Mongolian family from RM5mil to RM1.4mil in the lawsuit against political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, two policemen and the government.
A three-judge panel, chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Hashim Hamzah, said the total of RM5mil was awarded primarily on a vindicatory basis, rather than on a proper calculation of loss of dependency.
The amount was set aside and replaced with RM1.4mil.
The new sum included RM1mil for aggravated damages and RM384,000 in dependency claim, to be paid by Abdul Razak and Special Actions Unit (UTK) officers C/Insp Azilah Hadri and Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar to Altantuya’s family, as the plaintiffs.
The court also awarded RM10,000 in bereavement expenses and RM15,000 in funeral expenses to the family.
The Court of Appeal also held that the government was not vicariously liable for Altantuya’s death, as the acts of the two former police officers, Sirul Azhar and Azilah, were committed outside the scope of their duty.
Altantuya’s family had filed a RM100mil lawsuit in 2007, claiming that her death caused them mental shock and psychological trauma.
In 2022, the Shah Alam High Court allowed the lawsuit filed by Altantuya’s family and ordered Azilah, Sirul Azhar, Abdul Razak and the government to pay RM5mil in damages jointly.
The government and Abdul Razak subsequently appealed against the High Court’s decision.
Azilah and Sirul Azhar were convicted in 2009 of murdering Altantuya in Shah Alam between Oct 19 and 20, 2006.
The Federal Court, in 2015, upheld their convictions and death sentences after overturning a prior acquittal by the Court of Appeal.
