Death for Altantuya's murderers

Two police special action force personnel - chief inspector Azilah Hadri and corporal Sirul Azhar Umar - were sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court this morning for the grisly murder of Mongolian national Altantunya Shaarriibuu.

Azilah, 33, and Sirul Azhar, 37, did not show much expression when justice Mohd Zaki Md Yasin delivered the verdict before a packed courtroom.

Reporters from the local and foreign press had gathered as early as 6.30am in court. Proceedings began at 9.30am which saw the judge giving a brief oral judgment and promised to give the full one later.

Justice Mohd Zaki in his judgment said what was required for the court to decide, was whether the two accused had managed to cast reasonable doubt to warrant their acquittal.

He noted Azilah's evidence from the witness stand that he did not show police the scene of the crime leading to the discovery of Altantuya's remains and that he was not at the crime scene at the relevant times and dates of the murder. Instead, Azilah ( left ) claimed he was at Wangsa Maju as his alibi.

The duo were found guilty of murdering Altantuya, who was then 28, at Lot 12843 and Lot 16735 Mukim Bukit Raja near here, between 10 pm, Oct 19 and 1 am, Oct 20, 2006.

The judge said the accused further stated he was not the last person with Altantuya and that he had handed the deceased on the night in question to Sirul Azhar, for him to send her to Hotel Malaya.

Mohd Zaki also noted the evidence from the dock given by Sirul Azhar ( right ), namely that he was made a scapegoat, denied having possession of Altantuya's personal belongings.

He also claimed that he was not at the crime scene but was instead having tea at Devi's Corner in Sri Hartamas and having ‘sahur’ (meal before fasting during Ramadan) at Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

"The second accused also denied that the deceased was handed to him by the first accused for her to be sent back to Hotel Malaya," he said.

Accused blaming each other

The judge said the court noted Azilah did not call any of his witness to support his defence and his alibi.

He emphasised the law relating to non-calling of witnesses by the defence is well determined - namely the court must consider whether he had succeeded to cast reasonable doubt.

"The law relating to the weight to be attached to the unsworn statement (by Sirul Azhar) from the dock which is not subjected to cross-examination by the prosecution is also clear.

As to the weight to be attached to the statement, the court must consider its worth with regards to the other evidence available, said Mohd Zaki.

Mohd Zaki said he had considered the defence and prosecution's submission, analysed and tested it against the testimony put up by both the accused.

"I find the defence has been one where each of them is blaming each other and one of denial. As such, the defence has been irreconcilable and unbelievable.

“Thus, they had failed to raise any reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case which I find to be a conclusive account of the physical and circumstanstial evidence adduced before me.

"The prosecution has therefore successfully proven its case against both accused beyond any reasonable doubt. Accordingly, I find both of you guilty and convict you both as charged.”

Then, he announced the death sentence.

"I sentenced you to death and both of you will be kept in lawful custody until you are brought to a lawful place to be hung until you are dead," said the judge.

At this point, some of Azilah's and Sirul Azhar's family members were seen crying, while the two remain emotionless.

The duo then stepped out of the dock and hugged their lawyers.

Karpal: Many questions unanswered

Karpal Singh, who was holding a watching brief for the Altantuya family, said the conviction of the duo did nothing to improve Malaysia's international standings.

He said that many questions were left unanswered as to the motive for the killing on the Mongolian.

He added that another unanswered question was if the two had acted on their own and were directed to act by someone else.

"Certainly Dr Shaariibuu Setev would not be satisfied as he felt there were others involved but being let off the hook," he said referring Altantuya's father who was not present in court today.

"You must satisfy the international community. The international community does not accept that only these two are responsible for the murder. It goes beyond these two," he said.

"These two have no motive, they didn't even know her before."

Karpal said the battle is not over as he had filed for a judicial review to compel the prosecution to file an appeal against political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda's acquittal.

He had also filed a civil suit on behalf of the family where Abdul Razak, Azilah, Sirul Azhar and the government were name as defendants.

The senior lawyer also express surprise that the court did not address the motive in the murder, which had not been touched at all throughout the trial.

"The two may have acted on instructions as they would not resort to such action if they had not been instructed or because of something else."

However, he noted in law it was not compulsory for the court to cite a motive.

Lead prosecutor Majid Hamzah, who is the head of the prosecution division in the Attorney General's Chambers, said the prosecution was satisfied as it had proved that no one else was involved.

"It also showed the prosecution had proven its case based on the circumstantial evidence that had been adduced," he said.

Meanwhile, Mongolia's Honorary Consul in Malaysia Syed Abdul Rahman Al Habshi who was present later said he had informed Shaariibuu and the Mongolian embassy in Thailand.

"They have accepted the decision and are satisfied," he said. A translator from the Mongolian embassy said she was surprised to see that the two accused did not show any emotions following the sentence.

Sirul Azhar's lawyer Hasnal Rezua Merican said he would be filing an appeal. Hazman Ahmad, who acted for Azilah, when contacted said he would do the same.

Azilah expected to be released

Azilah's fiance Nur Azila Baharuddin, who had been present everyday at the trial, said Azilah did not expect to be found guilty but has accepted the verdict.

"We will wait for the next stage," she told journalists. "I really want to marry him, I have been waiting for so long since 2006.

"I have also informed his family who are not able to come here as they are staying in Sarawak. They are sad on hearing the decision," she said.

Nur Azila said she will continue to support his fiance until the end and she still believes that he is innocent.

Altantunya, who was brutally murdered and her body blown to bits with military-grade explosives in the remote jungle clearing, has become a household name in this country.

The case received overwhelming attention when Abdul Razak ( left ) - a close aide of newly-minted Prime Minister Najib Abdul - was charged with abetting the murder.

However, he was later acquitted, and this sparked off a fresh round of speculations that the powers-that-be had a hand in it.

On Oct 31, 2008, the political analyst walked out a free man after the court found that the prosecution had failed to furnish proof on an important element on the conspiracy charge.

Since the case came to light, Najib has been forced to repeatedly deny having any links with the matter, which found its way to the pages of newspapers around the globe.

Despite any evidence linking him to the case, the allegations persist and the opposition has called for an official inquiry.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said the mystery surrounding the case was "haunting and hounding" Najib and threatened to damage his administration.

"(The) conviction and death sentence have not lessened but intensified public demands and necessity for a royal commission of inquiry into swirling allegations of Najib's involvement," he said in a statement.

Top blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has been charged with sedition after repeatedly linked Najib and his wife to the murder on his popular website Malaysia Today .

The prosecution team, which also consisted of DPP Noorin Badaruddin, Manoj Kurup and Hanim Rashid, stressed in their submissions that Azilah and Sirul Azhar were the only people behind Altantuya's murder.

Based on the evidence gathered from prosecution witnesses, the explosives used to blow up Altantuya's body was probably placed in her mouth, they said.

The case has set many records including one for having the longest hearing (159 days) with 84 witnesses at the prosecution stage and two at the defence stage.

According to records, Azilah has been incarcerated at the Sungai Buloh prison for 891 days while Sirul Azhar has been held for 895 days.