Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

©New Straits Times (Used by permission)

SHAH ALAM: Explosive substances which were found at the crime scene where Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered came from the Special Action Squad's (UTK) store in Bukit Aman.

Deputy public prosecutor Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah told the High Court yesterday that these explosives were accessible to accused Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, who are both UTK members.

"Both the accused had access and opportunity to smuggle the explosives out," he said in his submissions at the end of the prosecution case.

Azilah, 32, and Sirul, 36, are charged with murdering Altantuya at Mukim Bukit Raja, Selangor, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am the following day.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 47, is charged with abetting them.

Tun Abd Majid added that during training, the amount of explosives used was not recorded and there was a possibility that unused explosives were not returned.

On a defence counsel's contention that there was no evidence to prove that an explosion took place the night the Mongolian woman was murdered, he said this could be because the sound was muffled by the surroundings, which were on a hill in a secondary jungle.

"A witness who was on duty at a guard post near at the foothill, Mustaffa Umat, said he did not hear a bomb explosion but only the sound of firecrackers at the time of the alleged offence."

He submitted that Mustaffa admitted he had no idea what a bomb explosion sounded like.

Tun Abd Majid also argued on the closed circuit television images which captured Azilah and Sirul at Hotel Malaya (where Altantuya was staying before she disappeared).

"Both their images were captured after Razak had furnished Azilah with information on the deceased's name and where she was putting up (Hotel Malaya).

"This corresponds with the information written on a paper in a bag seized from Azilah's cubicle in Bukit Aman," he said, adding that the handwriting on the paper was Abdul Razak's.

Tun Abd Majid also submitted that there was nothing suspicious about the two contradictory police reports lodged by ASP Zulkarnain Samsudin on the discovery of Altantuya's jewellery.

(The two reports were discovered when the prosecution tendered the amended copy while the defence team held the original copy.)

"But the fact remains... the information on the discovery of the jewellery was given (by Sirul) and that the amendments did not change the substance of the information.

"And the fact remains that Altantuya's jewellery were found in a jacket which was kept in Sirul's cupboard.

"How did it get there after it was last seen on Oct 19 (the night she disappeared) and reappear on Nov 7 (the day the police discovered the jewellery in Sirul's apartment)?" he asked.

Hearing before judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin continues today.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed