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©New Straits Times
(Used by permission)
by Rita Jong
SHAH ALAM: There was nothing wrong with Abdul Razak Baginda calling for police
assistance when Altantuya Shariibuu was being a nuisance outside his house,
argued his counsel yesterday.
Wong Kian Kheong told the High Court that Razak's calling
murder accused Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri for help did not constitute abetting
a murder.
"Isn't it reasonable to call a police officer if someone creates a nuisance
outside my house in the middle of the night?" he asked.
"It would be a different story if Azilah was not a cop. In this case, Azilah
came highly recommended by senior police officer DSP Musa Safri."
Wong said this yesterday in his submission in reply at the end of the
prosecution's case in the trial of Azilah, 32, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar,
36, who are charged with murdering Altantuya at Mukim Bukit Raja, Selangor,
between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006, and 1am the following day.
Razak, 47, a political analyst, is charged with abetting
them.
Referring to the allegation that Altantuya had gone and stood outside Razak's
house the night she went missing on Oct 19, when Razak was not at home, Wong
said it was Razak's instructions to Azilah to keep the Mongolian woman there
until he arrived.
"From Razak's state of mind, he thought Azilah went to his house as a police
officer.
"The prosecution never adduced any evidence to show that Razak had knowledge of
what happened to Altantuya after that. So, how could someone lie when they did
not even have knowledge of something?"
Wong said Razak had to ask Musa what happened to Altantuya. And he pointed out
that Musa was never called as a prosecution witness to rebut this.
"Razak's telephone records concerning Musa show Musa's role in recommending
Azilah to him, which caused this tragic episode," he said.
Wong argued that the court should take judicial notice of the evidence of
Razak's private investigator P. Balasubramaniam (a prosecution witness) who
appeared to have done a flip-flop in respect of his two statutory declarations.
(Balasubramaniam filed a statutory declaration on July 1, linking Deputy Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to Altantuya. Three days later, he filed another
declaration in which he retracted the contents of the earlier sworn document.)
Wong said the court should not call Razak to enter his defence based on
Balasubramaniam's conflicting evidence and character.
He submitted that Razak's bail affidavit filed on Jan 5 last year before another
judge corroborated with his police statement.
"The prosecution relied on certain parts of his affidavit, which means that
certain parts are true and should be given weight in the question of whether the
prosecution has proved a prima facie case in the abetment charge," he said.
"I submit that if the contents of the affidavit are true, then Razak should be
acquitted at the close of the prosecution's case."
Hearing before judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin continues on Monday.
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