KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — After a three-year legal battle, the widow of late private investigator P. Balasubramaniam has officially discharged her lawyer and withdrawn her suit against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and seven others.
The Star quoted A. Santamil Selvi as saying that she had decided on the matter on her own, and that no one had influenced her latest decision.
“I made the decision on my own, without any coercion or instigation from any party,” she reportedly said.
Her former counsel, Americk Singh Sidhu confirmed that the case was officially over.
“Now that she has withdrawn this matter and discharged me as her counsel, she has to realise that she is liable for quite a large sum in costs, not to me but the other defendants in the suit,” he was quoted saying.
In 2013, Santamil and her three children filed a suit against the prime minister and seven others for losses incurred during their 56 months of exile in India from July 4, 2008 to March 15, 2013, following two controversial sworn statements by the late Balasubramaniam concerning Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu’s 2006 murder.
Americk said he had represented Balasubramaniam since 2008, and his family since 2013 on a pro-bono basis.
“At that time, she couldn’t afford to engage a lawyer. But now that she is with this NGO and they are her benefactors, perhaps they should now consider paying me the legal fees,” he added.
“We were suing for RM2 million, and she has given up that RM2 million claim to accept RM21,000. It doesn’t make sense, but it is up to her,” Americk said.
Yesterday, Pertubuhan Minda dan Social Prihatin Malaysia (Minda) president Ramesh Rao and vice-president Zakwan Hafiz Ahmad Ansari reportedly presented Santamil with a RM21,050 donation.
Santamil claimed she had been receiving assistance from PKR since the death of her husband in 2013 until March this year, but was not sure if the funds would continue following the donation.
