Altantuya suit 'will go on at any cost'

Freshly freed from a sedition charge, veteran lawmaker and Karpal Singh today gave his assurance that the civil suit against the government and those responsible for the death of Altantuya Shaariibuu will go on at any cost.

The cost of the trial was no longer a problem, he said, because the Mongolian government has come to the rescue.

"The Mongolian government has promised to pay the RM60,000 security bond.

"The government is prepared to bear the cost.

"I just emailed them two days ago," he said, adding that he was surprised that Altantuya's father, Setev Shaariibuu, was in the dark about this.

Karpal said they knew that Shaariibuu was unable to meet the bond requirement, and that perhaps he had been misinformed .

The DAP national chairman added that in the event the Mongolian government did not come up with the money for the bond, then he would take the responsibility of raising the necessary funds.

"If the Mongolian government won't do it, we will do it here. No problem.

"I will take it up and get the Pakatan Rakyat MPs and state assemblymen all over the country to help raise the RM60,000," he said.

The Bukit Gelugor MP expressed his gratitude to those who have openly declared their willingness to help out in this matter.

"I have read about some people wanting to donate money online and I thank them," Karpal added.

The veteran politician explained that the suit was important, in order to find out the truth as to who was responsible for the death of the Mongolian translator in Malaysia's Scorpene submarine purchase from Russia.

'We can still find out the truth'

Although the case had remain elusive, with nobody found guilty of Altantuya's murder in the criminal court, he had faith that they could bring the matter to an end in a civil court.

"It can happen in a civil case... we can still find out the truth. In the case of the American footballer OJ Simpson, he was cleared of a murder charge but was found liable to the victim's family (in a civil suit).

"So it can happen here as well. We can do it," said Karpal.

Yesterday, in an email interview conducted through the family's lawyer Mukhsaruul Mijiddorj, Shariibuu said he had failed in his attempt to get financial help from the Mongolian parliament.

This sparked Malaysiakini readers to pledge not just donate to a fund but to raise the bond money as well.