Altantuya Shaariibuu
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa (
Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...
: Шаарийбуугийн Алтантуяа; sometimes also ''Altantuya Shaariibuu''; 6 May 1978 – 18 October 2006), a
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
n national, was a murder victim who was either murdered by
PETN Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, pentyl, PENTA (''ПЕНТА'', primarily in Russian), TEN (tetraeritrit nitrate), corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as ''nitropenta''), is an explosive material. ...
and
RDX RDX (Research Department Explosive or Royal Demolition Explosive) or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (CH2N2O2)3. It is white, odorless, and tasteless, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified ...
explosives or was somehow killed first and her remains destroyed with explosives on 18 October 2006 in a deserted area in
Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Her murder case is significant in contemporary Malaysian politics due to the alleged involvement of persons close to the former Malaysian prime minister,
Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
, who was then the deputy prime minister. The Shah Alam High Court originally acquitted
Abdul Razak Baginda Abdul Razak Abdullah Malim Baginda (born 6 February 1960) is a Malaysian former political analyst, and close associate of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He came to public notice in 2006 when he was charged with abetting the murder ...
and meted out the death sentence to two of the accused, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, on 9 April 2009, wrapping up the 159-day trial. On 23 August 2013, Sirul and Azilah were acquitted by the Court of Appeal, sparking controversy. On 13 January 2015, the Federal Court overturned the acquittal of both individuals, finding them both guilty of murder and sentenced both of them to death. However, Sirul fled to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and efforts by the Malaysian authorities to extradite him were hampered by existing Australian legislation prohibiting the extradition of individuals to countries with the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
. Azilah's death sentence was eventually reduced to 40 years in jail and 12 strokes of the cane. After the Malaysian 14th general election marking a historic defeat for the ruling
Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
coalition, Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...
and some relevant parties including Altantuyaa's father have hoped for further investigations to find the motive of murder and bring justice to the case. Sirul said he was willing to reveal what really happened in the murder case provided he was given a full pardon to come back to Malaysia. On 16 December 2019, convicted killer Azilah Hadri alleged from death row in Kajang Prison that the order to kill Altantuyaa Shaariibuu came from former Prime Minister Najib Razak and the latter's close associate Abdul Razak Baginda.


Background

Altantuyaa was born in 1978. She and her sister were raised in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, where Altantuyaa attended first grade in elementary school. She was reportedly fluent in
Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...
,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
,
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, and knew some
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
. Altantuyaa moved back to
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
in 1990 and, a few years later, married a Mongolian
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
singer named Maadai. They had a child in 1996 but the marriage ended in divorce and the child was sent to live with Altantuyaa's parents. Despite training as a teacher, Altantuyaa briefly relocated to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
to attend modelling school before returning to Mongolia. Her mother has, however, said that her daughter had, to her knowledge, never worked as a model. Altantuyaa remarried and had another child in 2003, but the second marriage also ended in divorce. The second child was also put in the care of Altantuyaa's parents. She worked as a translator and often travelled out of Mongolia to countries like China, Singapore and Malaysia. Records indicate that she visited Malaysia at least twice; the first time in 1995 and the second in early 2006.


Relations to Najib Razak

It was alleged that she was introduced by the then-Malaysian deputy prime minister
Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
to
Abdul Razak Baginda Abdul Razak Abdullah Malim Baginda (born 6 February 1960) is a Malaysian former political analyst, and close associate of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He came to public notice in 2006 when he was charged with abetting the murder ...
, a defence analyst from the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, at an international diamond convention in Hong Kong, and had a relationship with Baginda while accompanying him to Paris to work as a translator during his negotiations to purchase s from France for the Malaysian government. Hong Kong-based news website ''
Asia Sentinel The ''Asia Sentinel'' is an online blog focused on news, business, arts and culture in Asia. The site was launched in August 2006 in Hong Kong, and its assets were transferred to a U.S. registered company in 2017. History The ''Asia Sentinel' ...
'' revealed in a series of photographs that Altantuyaa was in France during which time the two quickly became romantically involved. However,
Raja Petra Kamaruddin Raja Petra bin Raja Kamarudin (; 27 September 1950 – 9 September 2024), sometimes referred to by the initials RPK, was a Malaysian blogger and politician known for running the '' Malaysia Today'' website and publishing a series of controvers ...
, the ''
Malaysia Today ''Malaysia Today'' is a Malaysian news blog founded in August 2004. Founding ''Malaysia Today'' was launched about two weeks before Anwar Ibrahim's release from prison on 2 September 2004. Once Deputy Prime Minister Anwar fell from grace af ...
'' editor, was the one who connected Najib Razak with the Altantuyaa murders. Najib Razak denied all allegations as there was no concrete proof about him knowing Altantuyaa. Raja Petra retracted his allegation of the involvement of Najib Razak and
Rosmah Mansor Rosmah binti Mansor ( Jawi: روسمه بنت منصور; born 10 December 1951) is the second wife of former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak. Like her husband, she was implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB). On ...
after the case was brought to court. Afraid of being prosecuted by the Malaysian courts for giving a false statement, Raja Petra fled to England, leaving his wife and children behind. In addition, a former aide to Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...
, Muhamad Rahimi Osman, claimed that Sirul's family was enticed to make a false statement that Najib was involved in Altantuyaa's murder. According to reports by the French newspaper ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'', Altantuyaa found out that one of the parties involved in negotiations, French company Armaris, paid out commissions of 114 million euros for the deal (reportedly one billion euros or RM4.7 billion for the purchase of three submarines). The commission was credited in the accounts of a company controlled by Abdul Razak, Perimekar. A letter written by Altantuyaa and found after her death shows that she had been blackmailing Mr. Baginda, seeking US$500,000 to remain silent about her knowledge of the deal. SUARAM secretariat, Cynthia Gabriel, commented that the Paris Courts have "extended its investigations with circumstances that led to Altantuyaa's death. However, the French Courts are not investigating the murder of Altantuyaa as its focus is on the alleged corruption conducted by DCNS with regards to the sale of the Scorpène submarines, but would deliberate on the murder in the course of the inquiry. On 25 June 2012, a French police investigation revealed that there were no immigration records of an "Altantuyaa Shaariibuu" entering France from 1999 to 2006. The same report noted instead the entry of a SHAARIYBUU Bayasgalan, who bore similarities to, but was not conclusively identified as Altantuyaa, as well as pointed out that Najib's entourage might have entered France through diplomatic channels as there was evidence of his presence but no corresponding immigration record. During the trial into Altantuyaa's death, Baginda told investigators that he had travelled with her to France in 2005. Records seized by French investigators from DCN's former financial chief described Altantuyaa as Baginda's translator. On the other hand, Rosana Weili, the director of Perimekar, claimed that the negotiations were conducted in English as the French negotiators spoke English. Rosana also had "no knowledge of anyone by the name of Altantuyaa" in the negotiation team. An article from '' The Star'' reported that when the deal was signed on 5 June 2002 between the Malaysian government and the submarine manufacturers, Abdul Razak Baginda had not met Altantuyaa as they only met two years after the agreement was signed.


Murder

When it was realised she was missing on 19 October 2006, her cousin lodged a police report and sought help from the Mongolian embassy in Bangkok. The Malaysian police found fragments of bone, later verified as hers, in forested land near the Subang Dam in
Puncak Alam Puncak Alam is a township in the Kuala Selangor District, Selangor, Malaysia. Located 20 kilometers northwest of Shah Alam, it lies within the border of the district, which spans 14,000 acre and includes 2 sub-districts (''mukim'') which is Jeram ...
,
Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...
. Police investigation of her remains revealed that she was shot twice before C-4 explosives were used on her remains, although there has been later suggestion that the C-4 explosives may have killed her. However, lab results confirmed the explosives used was
PETN Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, pentyl, PENTA (''ПЕНТА'', primarily in Russian), TEN (tetraeritrit nitrate), corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as ''nitropenta''), is an explosive material. ...
and
RDX RDX (Research Department Explosive or Royal Demolition Explosive) or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (CH2N2O2)3. It is white, odorless, and tasteless, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified ...
, a type of explosive used in quarries which could have been sourced from nearby quarries. When her remains were found their identity could only be confirmed with a DNA test. Members of the police force were arrested during the murder investigation. The two murder suspects have been named as Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35. They had been members of the elite Special Actions Unit () and were both assigned, albeit as bodyguards, to the office of the Prime Minister,
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi (, ; 26 November 1939 – 14 April 2025), also known as Pak Lah, was a Malaysian politician and civil servant who served as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. A member of UMNO, he was the party's ...
. Abdul Razak has been charged with abetting the murder.


Trial and verdict


Trial

According to court testimony by Altantuyaa's cousin Burmaa Oyunchimeg, Altantuyaa had shown Burmaa a photograph of 3 persons taking a meal together: Altantuyaa, Razak Baginda, and a government official. When questioned by the lawyer of the victim's family,
Karpal Singh Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh Deo (; 28 June 1940 – 17 April 2014) was an Indian Malaysian politician and lawyer. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bukit Gelugor in the state of Penang from 2004 to 2014. During that t ...
, Burmaa identified the official as then Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak. On 22 July 2008, Karpal Singh, who also holds a watching brief for the victim's family, filed a notice of motion to call 4 new witnesses, including Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, to testify in the trial, as well as sought to recall the first prosecution witness in the trial, private detective P. Balasubramaniam, for further examination. According to Karpal, Najib's testimony would be able to introduce fresh evidence to the case, and his requests were justifiable as per Section 425 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), which allows a court to "summon or recall any person as a witness in a trial", as well as "summon or recall any such person if his evidence appears to the court to be essential to the just decision of the case." On 23 July 2008, the petition notice was rejected by the High Court. The High Court judge, Mohd Zaki, stated that "only the parties involved, namely the prosecution and the defence" had a right to submit the petition.


Acquittal of Abdul Razak Baginda

On 31 October 2008, the High Court acquitted Abdul Razak Baginda of abetment in the murder of Altantuyaa, with the prosecution saying they would appeal the acquittal. As of March 2009, the appeal had yet to transpire. However, in a development 13 years later at a court hearing in the civil case brought against former policemen Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, as well as Najib and the Malaysian government by Altantuya's father, incriminating evidence emerged against Baginda. The court was told in May 2022 that on the day of her disappearance, Altantuyaa had made a police report in which she suggested that authorities "look for Razak Baginda" if anything should happen to her.


Defence and witness

Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar were ordered to enter their defence and testify under oath. On 10 November 2008, it was announced that the murder trial has been postponed to January 2009 to allow the defence more time to prepare and gather witnesses. The witnesses sought included Malaysia Today editor, Raja Petra Kamarudin and private investigator, P. Balasubramaniam, who was unlocatable at that time. The request by the defence counsel for Sirul Azhar and Azilah to get statements from all prosecution witnesses was rejected with the reason given that "witness statements recorded under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code is privileged". This would have included the witness statement of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's former aide-de-camp DSP Musa Safri, which would have been used to rebut Abdul Razak's affidavit. On 3 February 2009, Sirul Azhar pleaded with the court to not pass the death sentence on him, as he was like "a black sheep that has to be sacrificed" to protect unnamed people who have never been brought to court or faced questioning. "I have no reason to cause hurt, what's more to take the life of the victim in such a cruel manner... I appeal to the court, which has the powers to determine if I live or die, not to sentence me so as to fulfil others' plans for me."


Death sentence

On 9 April 2009, High Court Judge Zaki Yasin ruled that Sirul Azhar's and Azilah's statements were "unbelievable" as both of the accused only blamed each other. Both policemen were sentenced to death for the murder of Altantuyaa. Wrapping up the 159-day trial, Zaki said both of them failed to raise any reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case. However, their lawyers planned to file an appeal. Both policemen showed no emotion when they heard that they were sentenced to be
hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
until dead. Their family members accept the court's decision and denied any political elements in the verdict. The two policemen appealed their sentence in late August. The Court of Appeal fixed a date for their appellate hearing for 10 June 2013. Shariibuu Setev's lawyers applied for a review of the Attorney-General's decision not to appeal Abdul Razak Baginda's acquittal in the murder of Shariibuu's daughter, Altantuyaa. The application was set to be heard at the High Court on 8 July 2009. Dr. Shariibuu later withdrew the application but said he would still proceed with the claim against Abdul Razak, Azilah, Sirul Azhar, and the Government of Malaysia for damages over Altantuyaa's death. Sirul and Azilah were acquitted on 23 August 2013 by the Court of Appeal. Several reasons were given for the acquittal such as the failure of the prosecution to provide a strong motive for the two men to murder the victim and the failure to call for the cross-examination of Najib's aide Musa Safri and Najib Razak. The acquittals drew the derision of Altantuyaa's father, and many Malaysians. The prosecution immediately made an appeal to the Federal Court over the acquittal of Azhar and Sirul, which was heard on 23 June 2014. The Federal Court overturned the acquittal of both individuals on 13 January 2015, finding them both guilty of murder and sentenced both of them to death.


Sirul's escape to Australia

After the Federal Court's ruling however, Azliah was the only person out of the duo to return to prison, as it was discovered that Sirul did not show up during the appeal hearing and was believed to be in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, has made an extradition request to Australia calling for Sirul, but faces difficulty as Australian law does not allow for the extradition of individuals to another jurisdiction if they could be sentenced to death. Sirul was detained by Australian immigration authorities in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, on 20 January 2015 after an
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
red notice was issued for his arrest. However, Australia's non-refoulement obligations meant that Sirul could not be deported back to Malaysia due to his pending death sentence and he remained indefinitely detained in
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, originally Villawood Migrant Hostel or Villawood Migrant Centre, split into a separate section named Westbridge Migrant Hostel from 1968 to 1984, is an Australian immigration detention facility located i ...
until November 2023 when a High Court ruling on another asylum seeker case ( ''NZYQ v. Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs & Anor'') ruled the indefinite detention of asylum seekers to be unlawful. Released on basis of that ruling, Sirul remains out of custody in Australia as of November 2023. In December 2023, the Australian authorities were considering the proposal to enact new immigration detention laws, which may allow the Australian penitentiary system to detain the high-risk offenders formerly held in immigration detention, and due to his conviction for murdering Altantuyaa, Sirul faced the possibility of returning to prison once again, but his case is still undecided as of December 2023.


Finding the motive of murder

Three years after the Federal Court found both policemen guilty of murder and sentenced them to death, Dr Shaariibuu Setev, the father of Altantuyaa, made a report to request the police to reopen the case of the murder as his lawyer Ramkarpal said that the motive of the murder needed to be investigated and who ordered the killing be brought to justice. Prime Minister Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...
, who led
Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...
to defeat
Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...
in the 14th General Election on 9 May 2018, said the murder case should be reopened and agreed that it warranted further investigation. After the 2014 election, Mongolian President
Khaltmaagiin Battulga Khaltmaagiin Battulga ( ), also referred to as Battulga Khaltmaa (; born 3 March 1963), is a Mongolian politician and sambo wrestler who served as the 5th President of Mongolia from 2017 to 2021. He served as Member of the State Great Khural fr ...
asked Dr Mahathir Mohamad to help bring justice in the murder case of Altantuyaa while Malaysian political leader
Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...
said Sirul should face a new trial as the judges' ruling was compromised and the reluctance of the judges to call relevant witnesses made a mockery of the law.


Azilah's re-trial application

On 8 December 2020, Azilah had lost his appeal, in which he sought a re-trial and review of his conviction and sentence. The Federal Court of Malaysia dismissed the appeal as they found the case did not carry any breach or miscarriage of justice to warrant a review. This appeal was Azilah's final legal attempt to escape from the death penalty, and its failure effectively finalized Azilah's death sentence, confirming the former police officer to hang on a later date for Altantuyaa's murder. In September 2023, Azilah was transferred from Kajang Prison to
Sungai Buloh Prison Sungai Buloh Prison (; ) is a prison complex in Selayang, Selangor, Malaysia and the largest prison complex in Malaysia. Its construction started in 1992 and ended in October 1996, and it was formally opened in November 1996 to replace Pudu Pri ...
, where he was incarcerated on death row as the prison's last condemned inmate.


Commutation of Azilah's death sentence

Three years after Azilah lost his appeal to the Court of Appeal, while he was still incarcerated on death row, the
Malaysian government The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia (; Jawi: ), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a federation comp ...
announced in October 2018 that they would abolish the death penalty, although they later revised their stance and finalized their plan to make the death penalty discretionary and it would no longer be mandatory for all offences. The mandatory death penalty was eventually repealed in April 2023, and under the revised laws, anyone convicted of murder would face either the death sentence or a lengthy jail term ranging between 30 and 40 years, and 936 out of over 1,000 people left on death row had appealed to reduce their death sentences at the
Federal Court of Malaysia Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
. Azilah was one of the inmates who had filed an appeal for re-sentencing by the Federal Court, and this application is currently pending. However, Sirul did not apply for a review of his death sentence, but a police spokesperson stated that the Attorney-General's Chambers might possibly go ahead with applying to review Sirul's sentence in his absence, in order to facilitate Sirul's extradition back to Malaysia to face justice. In November 2023, it was reported that Azilah had simultaneously applied to the state pardon board as a final recourse to escape the death sentence. On 10 October 2024, despite the prosecution's arguments for the death sentence to stand, the Federal Court commuted Azilah's death sentence to the second-highest penalty of 40 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane. Altantuyaa's father reportedly wrote a letter, expressing his support for the reduction of Azilah's death sentence.


Lawsuit of Altantuyaa's family

Altantuyaa's family filed a lawsuit seeking damages for the death of Altantuyaa. Azilah, Sirul, Abdul Razak Baginda and the Malaysian government were named as the four defendants in this lawsuit, although during the hearing, Abdul Razak chose to remain silent and refused to testify under oath. On 11 July 2024, High Court Judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera ruled that all the four accused should pay RM5 million in damages to the family of Altantuyaa. Justice Vazeer also drew an adverse inference from Abdul Razak's decision to remain silent, and found that Abdul Razak, who was the only link between the deceased and both Azilah and Sirul (who did not know the victim), had played a "complicit" role and was ought to be considered culpable for the murder. He additionally ruled that Abdul Rzak had a case to answer for allegedly soliciting both Azilah and Sirul to unlawfully cause the death of Altantuyaa. Azilah and Sirul had no objection to the lawsuit, while the government sought to appeal against the compensation order.


Controversies


Statutory declaration by Raja Petra

In a statutory declaration in his sedition trial in June 2008, Raja Petra said that he was "reliably informed" that
Rosmah Mansor Rosmah binti Mansor ( Jawi: روسمه بنت منصور; born 10 December 1951) is the second wife of former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak. Like her husband, she was implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB). On ...
(the wife of Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister,
Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
) was one of three individuals who were present at the crime scene when Altantuyaa Shaariibuu was murdered on 19 October 2006. He wrote that Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, and Acting Colonel Abdul Aziz Buyong and his wife, Norhayati, Rosmah's aide-de-camp, were present at the scene of the murder and that Abdul Aziz Buyong was the individual who placed C4 plastic explosive on Altantuya's body and blew it up. Dr Shaariibuu Setev, the father of Altantuyaa Shaariibuu, has asked the police to conduct a thorough investigation into an allegation by Raja Petra saying the police should look seriously into the allegations as it might provide them with fresh evidence in their case. In retaliation, the two people named in Raja Petra's statutory declaration on 18 June 2008, Lt-Col Abdul Aziz Buyong and his wife Lt-Col Norhayati Hassan, as having been present at the murder scene of Mongolian Altantuyaa Shaariibuu are suing Raja Petra for defamation. Abdul Aziz is seeking an apology from Raja Petra to be published in certain websites and newspapers, the removal of the statutory declaration from his blog and damages of RM1 million. Raja Petra's counsel, J. Chandra, later insinuated that the article titled "Let's send the Altantuyaa murderers to hell" on 25 April under Raja Petra's byline was posted without his consent or knowledge. Raja Petra appeared to have distanced himself from the statutory declaration in a television interview with TV3, saying its accusations linking Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor to the murder were repeating information passed onto him by opposition figures, rather than information he knew to be true himself. He appeared to have stated that he did not genuinely believe that Rosmah was at the murder scene. The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement alleged that the interview had been heavily edited and spin doctored in favour of Prime Minister Najib Razak just in time for the upcoming Sarawak state elections. Raja Petra also denied that he did not believe Rosmah was at the scene saying that the interview was "chopped up". He also later clarified and pointed out that he had always been consistent in relation to the statutory declaration, saying that he had never directly accused Rosmah of being at the scene of the murder, merely repeating what was told to him.


Statutory declaration by P. Balasubramaniam

A second statutory declaration was filed on 1 July 2008 by Abdul Razak Baginda's private investigator P. Balasubramaniam, disclosing then deputy Prime Minister Najib's links to Altantuyaa. Bala said the police omitted information about the relationship between Najib and Altantuyaa during their investigation. In the statutory declaration Abdul Razak had told Balasubramaniam that the deputy prime minister had a sexual relationship with Altantuyaa and that the trio had dined together in Paris. Detailed conversations in a statutory declaration revealed that Abdul Razak had in effect inherited Altantuyaa as a lover from Najib, who passed her on because he did not want to be harassed as a deputy prime minister. Among other lurid details, Balasubramaniam described text messages between Najib and Abdul Razak in which the latter was asking for help to avoid arrest, implying Najib personally interfered with the murder investigation. In making his statutory declaration, Balasubramaniam mentioned that a man in a blue
Proton Saga The Proton Saga is a series of subcompact cars and currently city cars produced by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton. Introduced in 1985, the Proton Saga became the first Malaysian car and a major milestone in the Malaysian automotive in ...
happened to be driving past the home of defense analyst Abdul Razak Baginda at that time of the day before Altantuyaa was reported missing on 19 October 2006 and revealed that the man was Nasir Safar, the special advisor to Najib Razak. Former deputy Prime Minister,
Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...
, has called for a
Royal Commission of Inquiry A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equiva ...
to look into the case. However, the RCI has not been convened on this issue. It has been claimed that Balasubramaniam's allegation on the involvement of
Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
on the murders of Altantuyaa could have political motivations, as the press conference for the allegation was made at the national PKR Headquarters.


Retraction and disappearance

The following day Balasubramaniam retracted the statutory declaration he made on 1 July 2008 and proffered a second statutory declaration that erased all traces of allegations that referred to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and Altantuyaa Shaariibuu's murder. There were accusations that this new statutory declaration could have been due to intimidation or inducement, and was done not on his own free will. This was supported by Bala's first lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu saying that he was not able to get in touch with Bala despite repeated phone calls to Bala's cell phone. The Malaysian police said on Sunday 6 July that they have asked Interpol to help find the private investigator who had been reported missing since making explosive claims linking the deputy premier to a murder. Bala's nephew filed a missing person's report saying the investigator and his family had disappeared. It was discovered on 10 July that Balasubramaniam's house in Taman Pelangi had been broken into. Balasubramaniam was said to have taken refuge in a neighbouring country with his wife and children. It is assumed that Bala was running away because he either received death threats or a bribe from Najib.


Reappearance and retraction of second statutory declaration

After his reappearance, Bala claimed that he signed the second statutory declaration without even reading it, claiming he was threatened. Bala also said that a member of Najib's family, Najib's younger brother Nazim Abdul Razak, teaming up with Deepak Jaikishan, a businessman with connections to Najib Razak's family, made Bala withdraw his first statutory declaration and offered him RM5 million to do so, but that his first declaration was true. Balasubramaniam has declined to meet the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in Singapore to give his testimony about allegations surrounding the murder of Altantuyaa Shaariibuu as he has made his personal security a prerequisite for his testimony. The MACC also wanted to classify all correspondence between Balasubramaniam and it as ‘secrets’ under the
Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of Classified information, state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security. However, in its unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secret ...
, which according to Bala's lawyer was the subject of disagreement. Bala continued to reiterate that the first statutory declaration he signed was the truth. He actively campaigned for the Malaysian opposition giving talks on Najib and Rosmah's alleged role in the death of Altantuyaa until his eventual death by heart attack on 15 March 2013.


Deepak Jaikishan

Malaysian businessman Deepak Jaikishan in the later part of 2012 held several press conferences regarding his role in the retraction of Balasubramaniam's first statutory declaration and the supposed coercion in making Bala sign the second declaration. He also made damning accusations against Prime Minister
Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
and his wife
Rosmah Mansor Rosmah binti Mansor ( Jawi: روسمه بنت منصور; born 10 December 1951) is the second wife of former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak. Like her husband, she was implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB). On ...
, implying they were the ones giving instructions and had prior knowledge of coverup of the first statutory declaration. He further revealed that it was the Prime Minister's brother Nazim Abdul Razak who paid off Balasubramaniam. In a biography launched on 19 March 2013, Rosmah Mansor denied any involvement with the murder of Altantuya, stating that she was attending a special session with the Islamic Orphans Welfare Association on the day in question, and describing the accusations against her as "slander". Deepak has also made claims denying that he is not currently being sponsored by the Malaysian opposition
Pakatan Rakyat Pakatan Rakyat (PR; ) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Par ...
or its leader
Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...
, despite claims by certain parties that he is. Deepak has expressed regret in being involved in the Altantuyaa affair. Anwar has continually denied that he is behind the recent exposes by Deepak. The revelations came at the same time Deepak was involved in a lawsuit against the government and governing party
UMNO The United Malays National Organisation ( abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a conservative, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its inception in 1946), UMNO has been known as ...
in a land deal case. He also said that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is more interested in ignoring this matter rather than starting an investigation. He made further references to the lawyer duo who were involved in drafting the second statutory declaration, implying they came from the law firm of Zul Rafique & Partners of Kuala Lumpur. It was later inferred to the Malaysian Bar Council by several parties, including activist Haris Ibrahim and Robert Phang that the lawyer duo was Tan Sri Cecil Abraham and his son. The Bar Council has promised to begin investigations into the drafting of the second statutory declaration. Bala's lawyer, Americk Sidhu, revealed in Bar Council investigation hearings that Cecil Abraham confirmed to him that he was the one who drafted Bala's second statutory declaration under instructions from Najib himself. A professional misconduct complaint was to be lodged against Cecil Abraham by the Bar Council, where under the Legal Profession Act he could be reprimanded, fined and suspended from practice for up to five years.


Sirul Azhar

Sirul Azhar, the former police commando, who was convicted for the murder of Altantuyaa, revealed during his detention in Australia that he was under orders to kill Altantuyaa and that the real murderers were still free. He also mentioned that Najib's aide-de camp Musa Safri and his superior should have been made to testify during the murder trial. Sirul's claims have been immediately rubbished by Najib and Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar. The opposition has asked Najib to explain why he was asserting that Sirul's claims were "total rubbish". In January 2016, Sirul Azhar denied that Najib Razak was involved in the murder case. Upon his release from detention in November 2023, Sirul claimed that his former lawyer paid him around $200,000 to absolve Najib, which the lawyer denied.


Further revelations

A lawyer for Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri said the type of explosives used in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuyaa Shaariibuu is not in the stock of federal police headquarters Bukit Aman. “Azilah's log record from Bukit Aman shows that he was only issued with a Glock pistol and magazines. In addition, both Sirul and Azilah are not trained to handle explosives and bombs such as the C4. In an investigative news report 101 East by
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
, an interview of a purported relative of Sirul called 'Frank' claimed that Sirul mentioned to him that Razak Baginda was the person who shot and killed Altantuyaa. The documentary also alleged that the then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had an extramarital affair with the victim prior to her death. The Australian journalist Mary Ann Jolley, who wrote the report, was deported from Malaysia on 14 June 2015 by the Malaysian authorities, alleging she had tarnished Malaysia's image. Following the airing of the documentary on 10 September 2015, the Malaysian
Prime Minister's Department A cabinet department or prime minister's department is a department or other government agency that directly supports the work of the government's central executive office, usually the cabinet and/or prime minister, rather than specific minister ...
and the former Inspector-General of Police,
Musa Hassan Musa bin Hassan (born 13 September 1951) is a retired Malaysian police officer who served as Member of the Board of Directors of the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) from May 2020 to May 2023 and the 8th Inspector-General of Police (Mala ...
, both issued statements contesting the report's assertions. In an interview with ''
The Malaysian Insider ''The Malaysian Insider'' (also known as ''TMI'', ''The Insider'', or ''Malay Ins Ins'') was a Malaysian bilingual news site. During its peak, it ranked consistently as one of the country's 100 most popular websites. In June 2009, Alexa rank ...
'', Abdul Razak Baginda claimed that Altantuyaa Shaariibuu was blackmailing him for amounts in the US$5,000 to US$8,000 range on personal matters, which prompted him to enlist Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri for help, and hire private investigator P. Balasubramaniam for protection. Altantuyaa was later murdered, allegedly under police custody of Sirul Azhar and Azilah Hadri. Both were convicted for the murder from the physical evidence found in Sirul's car, Sirul's house, and an account that they both were present at the hotel Altantuyaa stayed, and outside of Razak's house. Sirul denied Musa Safri's involvement, and Abdul Razak Baginda was acquitted of murder due to reasonable doubt raised from the record of 144 telephone calls and text messages made between him and Musa Safri. Abdul Razak Baginda also denied the murder was related to his submarine deal, and claimed P. Balasubramaniam's statutory declaration, that implicated the Deputy Prime Minister, was based on hearsay.


See also

*
Capital punishment in Malaysia Capital punishment in Malaysia is used as a penalty within its legal system for various crimes. There are currently 27 capital crimes in Malaysia, including murder, drug trafficking, treason, acts of terrorism, waging war against the Yang di-Pe ...
*
1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, often referred to as the 1MDB scandal or just 1MDB, is an ongoing corruption, bribery and money laundering conspiracy in which the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) ...
*
Najib Razak controversies Najib Razak is the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia, the son of former 2nd prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein. One of the most controversial leaders of the 21st century, his period of rule was marked by corruption, an extravagant lifestyle, and cra ...


References


External links


"Brutal Murder of a Mongolian Beauty"
''
The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...
'', Singapore
"Who was Altantuya Shaariibuu?"
''
Asia Sentinel The ''Asia Sentinel'' is an online blog focused on news, business, arts and culture in Asia. The site was launched in August 2006 in Hong Kong, and its assets were transferred to a U.S. registered company in 2017. History The ''Asia Sentinel' ...
''
Extradition of Sirul Azhar Umar
Al Jazeera English, September 2015 (video, 26 mins)
"The Girl Who Knew Too Much"
''
Asia Sentinel The ''Asia Sentinel'' is an online blog focused on news, business, arts and culture in Asia. The site was launched in August 2006 in Hong Kong, and its assets were transferred to a U.S. registered company in 2017. History The ''Asia Sentinel' ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Altantuyaa, Shaariibuugiin Deaths by person in Malaysia Political scandals in Malaysia 2000s in Kuala Lumpur Crime in Kuala Lumpur 2006 murders in Malaysia Police officers convicted of murder Female murder victims Incidents of violence against women 2000s in Malaysia October 2006 in Malaysia Violence against women in Malaysia