SHAH ALAM, Jan 31 — The High Court here today was told by Mungunshagai Bayarjargal that his father had refused to take him in after his mother, Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered in 2006.
Testifying as the fourth witness in his family’s RM100 million civil lawsuit against the Malaysian government, Mungunshagai said he reached out to his father, Bayarjargal Bayasgalam, whom he described as a popular singer in Mongolia, for support after Altantuya’s death and was rejected.
“My father clearly told me he was married again. He has other children and he refused to take me in,” he replied under cross-examination to the Manjeet Singh Dhillon, the lawyer representing Abdul Razak Baginda who is also one of the defendants in the lawsuit.
Manjeet had asked Mungunshagai if his maternal grandfather, Shariibuu Setev who is the first plaintiff in the suit, had asked the college graduate if he wished to be with his father.
Referring to an interview with The Star featuring Bayarjargal and published on November 15, 2006, Manjeet cited that the pop singer had wanted to take custody of his son following Altantuya’s death.
When asked by Manjeet whether he agrees with the article’s content, Mungunshagai disagreed and explained that his father even acknowledged later in his life that he had refused to care for him when he was young.
“I disagree that my father wanted to take care of me. I spoke to him man-to-man. He was very clear at the time and he apologised to me for not being there when I grew up.
“As a son, he didn’t want me at that time. He admitted it and apologised to me,” he said.
Manjeet then asked whether Mungunshagai’s father wanted the best for him; however, Mungunshagai said he never felt loved by his father.
“I knew I had a father but I never felt any loved, any care from him ever. We never spent a night together,” he said.
Manjeet also asked whether Bayarjargal was able to care for him after his mother’s passing in 2006.
“How would I ever know, I never met him,” Mungunshagai replied.
Earlier today, Mungunshagai testified in court that he met his father for the first time in 2011 and while he was growing up, the pop singer would sometimes send him gift and toys.
Referring to the same news article, Manjeet also asked whether Mungunshagai knew that Altantuya had prevented his father from seeing him. The 21-year-old stated he had no knowledge of the matter.
On Tuesday, Mungunshagai testified in court that he had changed his name to Bayarkhuu Bayarjargal to escape the negative stigma from Altantuya’s murder.
In court today, Manjeet asked the unemployed college graduate whether he had kept the word “Bayar” in his name to signify his fondness of his father.
“I put it to you that you changed your name to Bayarkhuu Bayarjagal because you were proud of your father,” he said.
Mungunshagai disagreed, stating that the decision to change his name was made by his grandfather, Shariibuu and that “Bayar” was a very common Mongolian name, which means “joy”.
The hearing will resume on May 6 and start with the cross-examinations of Shariibuu.
Altantuya’s parents Shaariibuu and Altantsetseg Sanjaa, and Altantuya’s two sons had on June 4, 2007, filed a civil lawsuit to claim compensation for the mental shock and psychological trauma they suffered over her death.
However, Altantuya’s younger son, 15-year-old Alatanshagai Munkhtukga, was removed as a plaintiff following his death in 2017.
In the lawsuit where Altantuya’s family is seeking RM100 million as compensation, Sirul Azhar Umar, Azilah Hadri, Abdul Razak and the government of Malaysia were named as defendants.
Sirul and Azilah were convicted by the High Court in 2009 of killing Altantuya. They succeeded in overturning their convictions at the Court of Appeal in 2013, but the Federal Court in 2015 restored their convictions and sentenced them to death.
Abdul Razak, who was accused of abetting the two former police officers in her murder, was acquitted.
Sirul fled to Australia after the death sentence was handed down and is currently in detention there as Australian laws do not allow the extradition of anyone to a country where he or she may be subjected to the death penalty. Azilah is on death row here.
