The appeal of the two special action unit police officers convicted in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu has been fixed for trial on Aug 27-28 at the Court of Appeal.

The matter came up for case management today at the registrar of the Court of Appeal.

altantuya trial 160707 azilah Lawyer Hazman Ahmad, representing the first accused Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri ( left ) told Malaysiakini that the trial dates had been fixed.

“All the records of appeal are in order and the trial dates have been fixed,” he said.

The trial dates was also confirmed by lawyer Hasnal Rezua Merican, representing the second accused Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar ( below ).

Azilah and Sirul were found guilty and ordered to the gallows by the Shah Alam High Court for murdering Altantuya between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am the next day at Lot 12843 and Lot 16735 Mukim Bukit Raja near Puncak Alam, Shah Alam.

 

altantuya razak baginda murder 050707 sirul azhar umar However, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was a close confidant to the then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had been acquitted by Justice Mohd Zaki Md Yasin when it highlighted that the affidavit by the accused was not rebutted.

Earlier this week Malaysiakini had reported three series of reports on the full written verdict by Justice Mohd Zaki Yasin which was published in the current law journal.

On Tuesday, the news portal reported that Justice Zaki found Abdul Razak’s affidavit was “ not part and parcel of the police investigations ” but governed by the Oaths and Affirmations Act in allowing for Abdul Razak’s acquittal.

The next day, Malaysiakini reported the judge as saying motive was not essential to prove in the murder case. Yesterday, it highlighted a flurry of phone calls between Azilah and Abdul Razak on the night of the incident.