After having the case stalled for seven-and-half months, a lawyer acting for the family of the Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu said they would arrange to serve an amended statement of claim on the RM100 million suit to former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar on their own.

Lawyer Ramkarpal Singh said today that despite numerous enquiries by his law firm and the Shah Alam court registrars, there is still no response from the Foreign Ministry on whether the statement has been served on Sirul in Australia.

“There are a few things that we have done to find out whether the Foreign Ministry has done its job of serving the documents to Sirul in Australia. We have not got a response from them, at all.

“We don't know what they have done. We don't know what the status is. So I have told the court now that by the next date, which is April 26, we will serve it on our own – in other words through our own server because we cannot wait for this to go on for too long,” he said.

Ramkarpal was speaking to Malaysiakini at the Shah Alam court complex, after attending to the matter with Shah Alam High Court deputy registrar Norhayati Johar.

He explained that under the Rules of High Court, the preferred method of serving the documents to Sirul is through the Malaysian consulate, but there has been no response.

There are means by which the court can compel the Foreign Ministry to act, Ramkarpal ( photo ) said, but the process would take too much time.

Therefore, he is opting to appoint a representative in Australia to serve the documents to Sirul, who is now being held at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre near Sydney, Australia.

“We can't be depending on that (the ministry) for too long. It's already been seven-and-half months now, so I am determined to just do it on our own, and then get on with it.

“Once we have served the documents on Sirul, then we can move,” he said.

The documents were sent to the Foreign Ministry in early-August last year.

The lawsuit was filed by Altantuya's parents Shaariibuu Setev and Altantsetseg Sanjaa, and two sons Mungunshagai Bayarjargal and Altanshagai Munkhtulga in 2007, but had been on hold pending the conclusion of the criminal trial on the case.

The defendants are the two former Special Action Unit officers, Sirul and Azilah Hadri, who were subsequently found guilty for Altantuya's murder and sentenced to death.

Also named as defendants are defence analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda and the Malaysian government, the former of whom had been charged with abetting murder in the criminal trial but was subsequently acquitted.

The amended statement of claim would include Sirul and Azilah's conviction, and the court's main findings against them.

Altantuya's family is claiming RM100 million in damages for alleged conspiracy and wrongful killing for the 2006 murder.