Malaysia Crime Watch

5 July 2007
Shah Alam

Abdul Razak Baginda’s secretary Siti Aisyah Mohd Azlan told the court that she cannot remember if Abdul Razak had told her that Azilah had murdered Altantuya, when Siti Aisyah was cross-examined yesterday by Abdul Razak’s counsel, Wong Kian Kheong. This is in contrast to her testimony on Tuesday when she was questioned by Hazman Ahmad.

Siti Aisyah also believed that her boss was incapable of abetting in Altantuya’s murder, describing Abdul Razak as a good employer and humorous in nature.

She then told the court of a short meeting between Abdul Razak and Altantuya in August outside of the Malaysia Research Strategic Centre office in the Lembaga Getah Asli Malaysia building, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. She heard Abdul Razak saying to Altantuya: “I have nothing to say to you. If you want to do anything, go ahead.”

Siti Aisyah said that Altantuya never mentioned about the death threats from Abdul Razak and P. Balasubramaniam or about the police report lodged against them. Abdul Razak did tell Siti Aisyah and two more colleagues that Altantuya was extorting money from him, which was why he hired Balasubramaniam to prevent the harassment.

She had also passed to her boss two notes that she received from a Chinese man and one note from a LGAM security guard sometime in October last year.

The tenth prosecution witness, chief security guard Mohamad Zaini Zainordin, then took to the stand as the prosecution tendered to the court the visitor logbook of the Lembaga Getah Asli Malaysia building as evidence.

Mohamad Zaini read an entry made on 18 October 2006 which showed that Azilah Hadri had signed in at 9:54am and signed out at 11:05am. He did not know who wrote the entry as he was working the night shift between 17 to 18 October 2006. The log book was not securely kept by any of the ten guards who take shifts in that building.

Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, one of the two accused of murdering Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, has to undergo a sub-trial to determine if his confession to his superior and jointly accused Chief Inpsector Azilah Hadri was given voluntarily. This was requested by Deputy Public Prosecutor Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah, with the intention to enter it as evidence to the case.

The eleventh prosecution witness, Deputy Commander of the Special Action Squad ACP Mastor Mohd Ariff, said he was given the order from federal CID deputy director II (Administration), Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan to go to Pakistan and bring Sirul back. Sirul was there as security escort to the Prime Minister and was due to return to Malaysia on 9 November 2006.

On 4 November 2006, Mastor went to Islamabad with two subordinates and met Sirul at a hotel, where he told him that his ex-wife had lodged a police report against him and he had to return to settle it. During the return trip, Sirul asked Mastor several times the real reason for bringing him back: once at the Lahore airport and once at the Bangkok airport.

Tun Abd Majid put it to the court that it was on the Malaysia Airlines flight from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur when Sirul made a voluntary confession on 6 November 2006, which the prosecution will seek to admit into the trial as evidence.

Mastor also told the court that members of the Special Action Squad, especially the lower ranked ones, known as operatives, worked strictly according to their orders and taught never to question authority. Among other activities, they were trained to handle firearms and explosives. Master said they undergo basic training to identify explosives and how to detonate them.

Mastor said that due to the difference in roles between Azilah and Sirul, Azilah was allowed to keep his firearm off duty while Sirul was disallowed from the same. He said that operatives are supervised by their superiors when they take explosives out of the store, but Mastor admitted that there are no records of unused explosives and thus there are possibilities that they are not returned to the store.

New Straits Times – Altantuya murder trial: Trial-within-trial to hear Sirul’s confession
<URL:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Frontpage/20070705080931/Article/index_html>

New Straits Times – Altantuya murder trial: Elite squad members like ‘robots’
<URL:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Frontpage/20070705081241/Article/index_html>

New Straits Times – Altantuya murder trial: Razak a ‘good boss, funny and not violent type’
<URL:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Frontpage/20070705100844/Article/index_html>

The Star Online – Court gets an insight into inner workings of Special Action Force
<URL:http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/5/nation/18221464&sec=nation>

The Star Online – Admissibility of Sirul Azhar’s confession to be put to a test
<URL:http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/5/nation/18221535&sec=nation>

The Star Online – Secretary: Since I have known him he has never been a violent man
<URL:http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/5/nation/18220556&sec=nation>

MCW – Day 12 of Altantuya Murder Trial
<URL:http://malaysiacrimewatch.lokety.com/day-12-of-altantuya-murder-trial/>

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