Shah Alam High Court judge Mohd Zaki Mohd Yasin will make a ruling tomorrow afternoon on whether a confession by corporal Sirul Azhar Umar in the Altantuya murder trial is admissible as evidence.

The judge has been listening to submissions from both the prosecutor and the defence lawyers for the whole day today as to why Sirul's confession should be made admissible, or not.

The confession was allegedly made to UTK deputy commander ACP Mastor Mohd Ariff during their flight from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur on Nov 6 last year.

Sirul is the second accused in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial.

Sirul's lawyer, Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin ( photo ), submitted this morning by outlining five main points as to why his client's confession should not be admissible.

The prosecution team, led by Tun Majid Tun Hamzah, then presented their submission after lunch, arguing that the confession should be admitted as evidence.

No inducement

Tun Majid said that there was "no inducement, threat or promises" made by Mastor to the corporal.

"A plain statement was made to the accused, telling him what is being charged against him," maintained the prosecutor.

Tun Majid addressed a point made by Kamarul in the morning that the prosecution had "categorically failed to call every witness that is material (to the case)," by arguing that sergeant Jelima Tasiran, corporal Zamri Abu Bakar were "mere escorts".

Using fiery rhetoric, the prosecutor asked the court, "How can they be material to our case? Such arguments don't hold water."

Tun Majid ( photo ) was referring to the Kamarul's earlier point that there were three people - sergeant Jelima Tasiran, corporal Zamri Abu Bakar and Mastor who were with Sirul at all material time, making the duo as material witnesses.

Tun Majid went on to counter Kamarul's accusation that "Mastor went to Islamabad with the intention to ask questions and extract a confession" and had thus overstepped his role and began to act as an investigating officer.

"We are not disputing that Mastor has some knowledge. He was informed by CID deputy director Syed Ismail, but that was about all he knew. He didn't have any extra facts with him. The facts told to him were brief," held Tun Majid.

He further argued that this practice was "acceptable".

Not arrested

Tun Majid also rebutted Kamarul's argument that Sirul was under arrest from the moment Sirul was picked up in Islamabad "because Sirul's personal liberty was restrained and he was being constantly guarded and watched".

"Mastor ( photo ) was only instructed to bring him back. There was no arrest. We have pointed out that there were no handcuffs," Tun Majid noted.

"Not free to move does not mean under arrest," he told the court.

The prosecutor pointed out the irregularities and conflicting statements made by Sirul when he took the witness stand on Friday.

He also addressed the issue of Mastor's tone of voice when confronting Sirul on the flight from Bangkok to Malaysia.

"Mastor didn't coerce Sirul into telling him anything. He asked in a normal way although in a commanding voice, but it does not make a difference. That alone does not make the confession involuntary. He did not force Sirul to answer."

Sirul had previously told the court that Mastor's voice was "stern" but "just loud enough for me (Sirul) to hear."

Mid-air confession

The prosecutor finally concluded his lengthy submission by stating that Sirul's confession was indeed voluntary.

Mastor could only reveal Sirul's alleged mid-air confession after judge Mohd Zaki decides on whether the corporal's response amounted to a confession and whether it was made voluntarily.

Mastor will continue to testify in the event the court rules that Sirul's confession was admissible as evidence.

If it was accepted, the prosecution would have suffered yet another major blow to their case.

Azilah and Sirul are charged with the murder of the Mongolian national which allegedly took place between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year.

Renowned political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 47, is charged with abetting them. All three accused face the death penalty if convicted.

The court hearing will resume at 2pm tomorrow where the judge is expected to announce his decision on the 'trial within the trial'.