Killing rattles Malaysian politics — Top official’s associates face trial in death of a Mongolian woman
By Yaroslav Trofimov
1695 words
29 March 2007
The Wall Street Journal Asia
English
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — On the evening of Oct. 19, as Malaysia’s Muslims broke the Ramadan fast, a slender Mongolian woman was forced into a unmarked car in an upscale Kuala Lumpur suburb and driven away.
Hours later, two bullets were shot into her skull. Then, the naked body of 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu was blown apart with military-grade C-4 explosives and abandoned in the tropical jungle.
What has happened since is sending tremors through Malaysia’s political establishment. The investigation into Ms. Shaariibuu’s disappearance has implicated close associates of the country’s second-most-powerful politician, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Najib Abdul Razak. A key political adviser will go on trial in June on charges of abetting the murder. Two members of Mr. Najib’s security detail have been charged with carrying it out.
The connection has propelled this murder mystery onto the center stage of Malaysian politics, calling into question the near-certainty that Mr. Najib will succeed current Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The coming trial is also viewed as a barometer of how far Malaysia has opened up in the three years since Mr. Abdullah succeeded his more authoritarian predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, and began relaxing restrictions on political debate, the media and the courts.
Wednesday November 21, 2007
Witness tells of contacts between Abdul Razak and Azilah
By CECIL FUNG
SHAH ALAM: Abdul Razak Baginda and C/Insp Azilah Hadri were constantly in touch with each other around the time of Altantuya Shaariibuu’s disappearance and subsequent murder.
The prosecution, through its 55th witness, established this by scrutinising the phone records of the two accused, on Day 60 of the murder trial yesterday.
In the witness stand was Maxis information services’ billing department principal engineer Goh Peng Chew, who confirmed to a High Court here that the two had exchanged calls and SMSes from Oct 14 to Nov 7 last year, based on their phone logs.
The court was first told of three SMSes sent to Abdul Razak on Oct 9 from the number that Altantuya had used.
According to Goh’s testimony, the first contact between the two accused was on Oct 14 when the political analyst sent the Unit Tindakan Khas (Special Action Squad) chief inspector a total of four SMSes from 8.48pm to 9.01pm.
A minute later, the two had a phone conversation lasting about three-and-a-half minutes.
The witness testified that on Oct 18, C/Insp Azilah made seven calls to two different phone numbers used by Abdul Razak at various times throughout the day. The political analyst also called the chief inspector eight times. A number of SMSes were exchanged between them during that time.
On Oct 19, the night Altantuya was last seen alive, the communication between the two accused began at 7.01pm with an SMS sent by Abdul Razak to C/Insp Azilah, followed immediately by a 41-second call by the latter.
From that point onwards, a total of nine calls were recorded between the two, the last one being at 9.41pm.
According to the charges, UTK operatives C/Insp Azilah, 31, and Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar, 36, allegedly murdered 28-year-old Altantuya between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year in Mukim Bukit Raja, here, while Abdul Razak, 47, is accused of abetting them in Kuala Lumpur between 9.54am on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19.
Goh, 38, confirmed that C/Insp Azilah had made a call to Abdul Razak on Oct 20 at 10.41pm, which lasted 33 seconds.
From Oct 21 onwards, the logs appeared to show that the political analyst was the only one making the calls and sending SMSes to the chief inspector.
Up till Oct 29, Abdul Razak had sent C/Insp Azilah 13 SMSes and called him 14 times. Each call lasted between 30 and 200 seconds.
On Oct 30, the chief inspector made his first call in 10 days to the political analyst at 7.02pm. Four minutes later, the latter called him back.
The logs showed that on Nov 7, Abdul Razak sent two final SMSes to C/Insp Azilah.
By then, the chief inspector was already in police custody, having been arrested on Nov 1 for investigations into the murder.
The trial continues on Monday.
Tuesday September 25, 2007
Bomb squad sweep comes up empty
SHAH ALAM: The bomb disposal squad dispatched to Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar’s flat unit on Nov 7 last year did not find any explosives, firearms or bullets there, a High Court heard.
“We took 20 minutes to do a sweep of the unit. After that, I informed Asst Supt Zulkarnain Samsudin that we didn’t find any firearms, bullets or explosives.
“He then ordered us to head back to headquarters,” Sjn S. Nagendraroo, 47, the squad leader, told a trial-within-a-trial of the Altantuya Shaariibuu case.
Sunday August 5, 2007
Caught by science
By RASHVINJEET S.BEDI
A strand of hair, a toothpick, a drop of blood and saliva on the rim of a cup – hardly tangible but enough to put criminals behind bars and help loved ones identify their dead next of kin. In many of the high profile crime cases, the Forensic Section of the Chemistry Department helps the police put the pieces together.
STAINED bed-sheets. These are items suspicious wives have sent to the Forensic Section of the Chemistry Department to find out if their husbands are faithful or otherwise.
It is a long and expensive process, which involves tracing the bed-sheet for seminal stains, extracting the DNA, amplifying it and testing the samples. If DNA from the seminal stains does not match the husband or wife's DNA, then very likely there is a case of infidelity.
Then there are those who seek the help of the department, which comes under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, to ascertain biological links, also done through DNA testing.
In Malaysia though, DNA testing is limited and the Forensic Section is mostly preoccupied with crime cases such as murder, rape and robbery. Many items are subject to testing – clothing, mattresses, nail clippings, firearms, bloodstains, cigarette butts and even chewing gum.
"On some occasions, robbers might have a drink after their job. We can test the cup (saliva) for their DNA," says Primulapathi Jaya, director of the Malaysian Chemistry Department's Forensic Section.
DNA or Deoxyribonucleic Acid is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms (Wikipedia). A person inherits an equal amount of DNA from the mother and father. With the exception of identical twins, a person's DNA is unique.
"DNA is permanent and doesn't get destroyed," says Primulapathi.
"It (DNA testing) is applying science to law to ensure criminal justice. This evidence doesn't lie. How it got there is another issue and that is for the police to find out. Only in paternity cases are we 100% sure," he adds.
Anything that humans come into contact with have traces of DNA, including one's toothbrush. In a recent case, a toothpick found in a car used for armed robbery nailed a member of the notorious Dewa gang.
DNA is taken from every US Army personnel so if anything were to happen to them (for example, blown to pieces beyond recognition), their identity can be confirmed.
The Chemistry Department has been involved in the high profile Canny Ong and Altantuya murder cases, among others. In the Canny Ong case, the convicted killer's sperm was found on her clothing while Canny's blood was found on the killer's jeans.
For now, the Forensic Section is busy with the murder of Goh Yoke Seng, whose body was chopped into 11 pieces and found in a refrigerator in a condominium in Mont Kiara last Sunday. DNA tests confirmed the identity of the deceased.
A blood sample from the next of kin of the deceased was used to confirm the identity of the body, says Primulapathi.
The time taken to solve one case depends on the number of exhibits received. If there are 100 exhibits, then it may take almost two months to test every exhibit, although police would recommend which exhibits were important.
"The police have improved a lot compared to when they first started. Before, they used to bring ahout 10 exhibits. Now it can go up to 80 exhibits. We try to screen what is relevant and what is urgent. If we have no further leads, then we will proceed with the next items," says Primulapathi.
Most murder cases take four to six weeks to complete but staff work round the clock when there are urgent cases.
"Some cases take time to complete. Complex cases can take a month to interpret, for example, a gang rape involving five or six people," he says.
Testing two DNA samples costs RM1,500, considered to be cheap in the region. In Singapore, it costs about S$1,300 (RM2,951).
The Forensic Section lab is state-of-the-art and has received ASCLD-LAB ("American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board") accreditation after a review by 11 experts from all over the world. It is the fourth lab outside America to gain such status.
Before the DNA testing, preliminary tests have to be done, explains forensic scientist (DNA), Noraidora Saedon. For example, the acid phosphatase test determines the presence of seminal stains. This could take a long time if the exhibit is a mattress. Blotting paper (A4) is placed on the mattress and stains are traced; every inch of the mattress has to be covered.
"Once we determine the location of the stain, the location is cut out and another test is conducted to determine if it's from a male or female," explains Noraidora.
Once that is done, DNA is extracted from the sample. The result is a clear liquid, which is then amplified before it can be tested. This process applies to all exhibits.
DNA from the exhibits is then compared with the suspect's DNA in a crime case. If there is a match, this evidence can be used to charge the suspect in court. If there is no match, the DNA profile is stored in a computer, to be used for future references. In one instance, a taxi driver was linked to six rape cases.
According to scientific officer Sharizah Alimat, DNA extraction can be a tedious process depending on the sample provided. While extracting DNA from blood is considered to be clear-cut, extracting DNA from a piece of bone (without its marrow) could take almost two weeks.
And in this nature of work, a lot of care is taken when handling the exhibits.
"We have to ensure the integrity of the exhibit. The sample must be tested without interference. We adhere to very strict procedures," says Primulapathi.
The DNA profile of staff is taken to ensure they are ruled out in case of any contamination while the exhibits have to be marked clearly so that no mix-up occurs.
"The sample that comes in may not be clean and there may be very little DNA, so we have to take extreme care. We can't rush the work and make mistakes because this involves people's life," says Sharizah.
COMMENTS
The Prosecutor should have gathered necessary evidence that C4 was used to blow up Altantuya. But was this the real murder weapon? And what if the Prosecutor does not present evidence to prove the source of the C4? Things like this will give rise to the ‘loopholes’ and may just acquit the accused.
The Prosecution may not examine and present facts which could prove that Altantuya allegedly came to collect her share of millions of ringgits commission from the 2 brand-new RM3.4 Billion Scorpene submarines deal which may have resulted in her murder. In this case, the Prosecutor has already prematurely proclaimed in public that ‘no one else’ was involved in her death when the case has not even being heard in Court yet. What the Prosecutor is actually saying is that in the event all the three accused are found innocent by the Court, they will close file for the case. The real murderers can remain scot-free. What sort of professionalism is the Public Prosecutor?
Serious questions arise:
Q. 1 How is it possible that C-4 explosive used to blow up Altantunya which is only available from the Ministry of Defence particuarly the Army readily comes to the hands of the 2 bodyguards? Is Abdul Razak Baginda or his superior DPM also involved in this crime?
Q. 2 Why Altantunya who was a lady and needed protection from man was killed or blownup with explosive? Is this a high profile murder?
Q. 3 Is the submarine deal with Russian connected with this murder? Why this issue was not brought out in court?
Q.4 Could the public be so easily deceived that Mongolian model Altutanya came to Abdul Razak to extort money from him and not to collect her share of the commission from the submarine deal?
Q. 5 Is Abdul Razak Baginda a scapegoat when the crime could be directed from higher authority since the 2 killers were bodyguards of DPM?
Q.6 Why DPM was never guestioned on the good conduct and behaviours of his 2 bodyguards and what roles they play in their duties?
Q.7 Why explosive was used to blow up the lady when she was allegedly shot by bullets?
Q.8 Based on blood stains on jacket found at the suspect’s house, Altantunya could have been shot first or wounded and then blow up in pieces. Why Abdul Razak did not report the extortion or intimidation to the police and detained her instead to engage expert to finish her off?
Q.9 What is the DNA result of Altantunya’s son allegedly fathered by the local famous man? Are the DNA of Najib Abdul Razak and Abdul Razak Baginda profiled to show any match with that son so as to rebut his relationship with her?
The list goes on. Will the victim deserve justice for the loss of her precious life?
