After more than a year of non-cooperation from the Foreign Ministry to serve the amended statement of claim on convicted murderer Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar in Australia, a lawyer representing Shaariibuu Setev and his two grandchildren has now engaged a private process server to do the job.

Lawyer Ramkarpal Singh said he hopes the papers would be served on Sirul before the next case management at the High Court in Shah Alam on Oct 26.

He informed the court on the latest development when the matter came up for case management before Justice Ahmad Nasfy Yasin today.

“We have engaged a firm of private process server in Sydney for this as the Foreign Ministry here (in Putrajaya) failed to do so. We hope the said documents will be served by the next case management date,” Ramkarpal said when contacted.

Setev is the father of the murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

It was reported that Setev and two of Altantuya's children, Mungunshagai Bayarjargal and Altanshagai Munkhtulga, had filed a RM100 million suit on June 4, 2007 over her death.

They named Special Action Unit officers chief inspector Azilah Hadri and Sirul, political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda and the Malaysian government as defendants in the suit.

Abdul Razak was charged with conspiring with Azilah and Sirul to kill Altantuya, 28, in 2006.

The political analyst was acquitted of the charge in October 2008 without having to enter his defence, while Azilah and Sirul were found guilty in 2009.

On Aug 23, 2013, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal by Azilah and Sirul and acquitted them of the charge.

However, on Jan 13, 2015, the Federal Court allowed the prosecution's appeal and set aside the Court of Appeal's decision. It found Sirul and Azilah guilty and sentenced them to death by hanging.

Sirul fled to Australia before the verdict was announced. The country said it would not approve any request to extradite him unless Malaysian authorities guarantee he would not face execution.

The civil suit had to be amended following the conviction of Azilah and Sirul at the Federal Court and the suit was supposed to resume after the criminal trial.

However, the amended statement of claim could not be served on Sirul who is being detained at the Villawood Immigration centre near Sydney.

Last year, Justice Suraya Othman had instructed Setev's lawyer to pass the documents to court for it to be sealed and then sent to the Foreign Ministry for it to be delivered to the Malaysian High Commission there.

This was because the lawyers might not have the jurisdiction to hand over the documents in Australia.

Ramkarpal's law firm had done the necessary to send the sealed court documents to the Foreign Ministry but it did not respond to the firm's letters on whether the documents were in fact delivered.