SHAH ALAM (Dec 16): The High Court here on Friday (Dec 16) found political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, then chief inspector Azilah Hadri and then corporal Sirul Azhar Umar to be liable for the death of Altantuya Shaariibuu 16 years ago, and hence the Government was also found to be vicariously liable.

Court of Appeal judge Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, who was sitting as a High Court judge, ruled that all four hence need to pay damages, but said the amount of RM100 million sought by the family of the slain Mongolian was excessive.

“Hence, the court awards damages to be paid jointly by all four defendants (Azilah, Sirul, Abdul Razak and the Government) of RM5 million in general, aggravated and exemplary damages to the deceased's family,” he ruled.

He ordered that the damages be charged at 5% interest from the date of the filing of the lawsuit, until the full settlement of the amount.

Vazeer Alam also ordered that all four defendants pay RM25,000 costs each.

The proceedings done via the Zoom application were also monitored by Mongolian embassy officials.

The family was represented by Sangeet Kaur Deo, Tan Chee Kian, and Simranjit Kaur Chhran, while Azilah and Sirul were not represented.

Lawyers P Mithran, Avtaran Singh and Eshwinder Kaur Gill appeared for Abdul Razak, while senior federal counsel Zetty Zurina Kamaruddin and federal counsel Khairuddin Amhar Mahmud represented the Government.

Altantuya's father Dr Shaariibuu Setev, her mother Altantsetseg Sanjaa, and the deceased's two sons, Mungunshagai Bayarjargal and Altanshagai Munkhtulga, filed the lawsuit on June 4, 2007, claiming that the model's death resulted in them suffering mental shock and psychological trauma, and sought compensation as well as exemplary and aggravated damages.

They named two former members of the Special Actions Unit attached with the police force, namely Azilah and Sirul, as well as Abdul Razak and the Malaysian Government as defendants.

However, Altanshagai's name was removed from the list of plaintiffs after he died in 2017.

A total of 26 witnesses for the plaintiffs, including Altantuya's father and eldest son, testified in the trial that began in 2019. The Government presented three witnesses, while Abdul Razak chose not to testify.

Altantuya was killed in Puncak Alam in the early morning of Oct 19, 2006, and Azilah along with Sirul were found guilty with the grisly murder. At present, Azilah is on death row at the Kajang Prison, while Sirul has left the country, and is said to be detained at the Australian immigration centre in Wollongong.

Meanwhile, Abdul Razak, who was charged with abetting with the murder, was acquitted without his defence called.

Vazeer Alam in his broad grounds said although Abdul Razak had chosen not to testify and denied liability, the court found him liable to the claim of unlawful killing of the deceased.

He said the court had considered and found that Abdul Razak had a case to answer, as he had sought the assistance of both Azilah and Sirul to deal with the deceased.

“There was no reasonable motive for Azilah and Sirul to kill the deceased. The only link was the third defendant (Abdul Razak), who wanted to stop harassment [by Altantuya],” the judge added.

In relating the events, the court said Altantuya had come to Malaysia to seek compensation for translation work.

Although the court did not relate what was the translation work, past revelations said this was in relation to the purchase of the two Scorpene submarines that Malaysia had acquired from France.

Abdul Razak, the court said, sought help from Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri, who was the aide-de-camp to then deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to deal with Altantuya, and hence Azilah was dispatched to meet the political analyst.

It was during this meeting that Azilah related that he could "habiskan perempuan itu" (finish off the woman) and admitted that he had done this several times.

The judge said as Abdul Razak had chosen not to testify, the court had to rely on his Section 112 statement recorded by the police, which showed that he sought assistance from Azilah to stop his family from being harassed, and the court found this reason hollow.

Vazeer Alam said Abdul Razak had admitted that Azilah told him the policeman could "habiskan perempuan itu", and the political analyst replied "perkara sebegini kita jangan fikir" (we should not think of such things).

“He (Abdul Razak) nevertheless continued to seek Azilah’s assistance to deal with the deceased when she showed up outside his residence that fateful night.

“On the night of Oct 19, the deceased was made to come alone to Abdul Razak’s home. Abdul Razak’s hired private investigator P Balasubramaniam then called him, who was having a meal with his family at a hotel.

“Abdul Razak then called Azilah on the phone, and told him that the deceased was outside his house. Azilah then told Abdul Razak that he will go to his house. Abdul Razak then called Balasubramaniam, and told him to keep the deceased there until Azilah arrived. It was then that Azilah arrived at Abdul Razak’s house to take her in the car to Puncak Alam and ultimately kill her.”

The judge said when the evidence is considered as a whole, the court found that there is a case against Abdul Razak, as his own private investigator had advised him to lodge a police report and have Altantuya deported.

“Instead, Abdul Razak proceeded to enlist the assistance of a self-confessed killer to deal with the deceased. Even Azilah had told the third defendant (Abdul Razak) that he can 'habiskan perempuan itu', he did not stop enlisting Azilah’s assistance.

“The first defendant (Azilah) did not know the deceased. There was no reasonable motive to kill the deceased, and the only link was the third defendant (Abdul Razak), who wanted to stop the harassment,” the judge said.

The judge added that there was no motive for Azilah and Sirul to kill Altantuya and blow her up with high-grade explosives.

“In the circumstances, I find that the plaintiffs have successfully proven on a balance of probabilities that Abdul Razak had a culpable role in the death of the deceased.  If not for Abdul Razak, Azilah and Sirul would not have taken the deceased in their car from his residence and ultimately kill her.

"This court also found the fourth defendant (the Government) to be vicariously liable, as the two defendants carried out the killing in the capacity when they were policemen. Judgement is entered on liability,” the judge added.

The High Court in finding Azilah and Sirul guilty of the murder ruled and found there was no motive for the killing.

The Court of Appeal in a unanimous judgement written by then judge Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who is now the Chief Justice, then acquitted Azilah and Sirul.

However, a five-member Federal Court overturned the decision in January 2015, and found both of them guilty of the murder. At that time, Sirul had already left the country.

Azilah and Sirul led the police to the scene of the crime separately, as Azilah was first arrested a few days after the murder, while Sirul was arrested on Nov 6, 2006, after returning home from official duty overseas. On his return, Sirul also led the police to the same murder scene.