KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered in 2006 in Selangor, but what is the current status of the two former policemen who were convicted for her murder? What has her family been seeking for?

Today, Azilah Hadri, a former chief inspector with the Malaysian police's special action unit (UTK), is set to know today in the Federal Court if his death sentence will be maintained or if his sentence will instead be reduced to a jail term of between 30 to 40 years and at least 12 strokes of whipping.

He is now 48 years old, and has been in prison for the past nine years since January 2015 while on death row. He is currently an inmate at the Sungai Buloh prison.

File photo of ex-policemen Azilah Hadri (right) and Sirul Azhar Umar.
File photo of ex-policemen Azilah Hadri (right) and Sirul Azhar Umar.

Here is a quick summary by Malay Mail of key events in Altantuya's case leading up to today, based on written court judgments and news reports:

2006

  • Oct 19-20 — Altantuya is murdered in Mukim Bukit Raja in the district of Petaling in Selangor, between 10pm on October 19 and 1am on October 20.
  • Fragments of human bone and tissue are found in the forest area in Puncak Alam within Mukim Bukit Raja, with DNA tests showing these to belong to Altantuya.
  • While popular speculation is that C4 explosives were used to blow up Altantuya's body, witnesses have testified in court that the explosives used were actually military-grade explosives PETN and RDX.
  • Then chief inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and then corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, who were with the police's UTK are charged with her murder.
  • Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda is charged with abetting the two former police commandos with Altantuya's murder.

2007

  • June 4 — Altantuya’s parents Shaariibuu and Altantsetseg Sanjaa, and Altantuya's two sons file a civil lawsuit at High Court in Shah Alam to seek RM100 million in compensation for mental shock and psychological trauma over her death. They named the four respondents as Azilah, Sirul Azhar, Abdul Razak and the government of Malaysia.

2008

  • Oct 31 — The High Court acquits Abdul Razak at the end of the prosecution's case without having to enter his defence. The prosecution does not appeal against this decision.

2009

  • April 9 — High Court finds Azilah and Sirul Azhar guilty of Altantuya's murder and gives them the death sentence. The High Court found that the duo's defence had been “denial” and blaming each other, ruling that they had failed to show a reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case.

2013

  • Aug 23 — The Court of Appeal's three-judge panel unanimously decides to acquit Azilah and Sirul Azhar of Altantuya's murder, as it ruled that the High Court's conviction of the duo was unsafe and the circumstantial evidence was insufficient to find them guilty.

2015

  • Jan 13 The Federal Court's panel of five judges unanimously decides to reverse the acquittals of Azilah and Sirul Azhar, and restores the High Court's conviction and death sentence of them. As this is the final court where the case can be appealed to, the two must be on death row.
  • But only Azilah was present when the Federal Court delivered its decision and he was taken to prison, while Sirul Azhar did not show up in court and could not be contacted. Federal Court issues arrest warrant for Sirul Azhar, who is later revealed to be in Australia.

2019

  • Azilah applies to a different panel at the Federal Court for review of its 2015 decision to restore his conviction and death sentence, and also asks for retrial at the High Court. In his October 17, 2019 statutory declaration published online by news portal Malaysiakini, he claimed that Najib had in 2006 instructed him to kill Altantuya, but Najib had reportedly dismissed such claims to be a fabrication.

2020

  • Dec 8 The Federal Court's separate five-judge panel dismissed Azilah's application for a retrial and review of his conviction, saying that there were no exceptional circumstances that would justify a review of the Federal Court's 2015 decision to keep his conviction. It said no injustice was shown in Azilah's case, based on court records.

2022

  • Dec 16 — High Court in Shah Alam rules in favour of Altantuya's family in civil lawsuit, orders the four respondents (Azilah, Sirul Azhar, Abdul Razak and the Malaysian government) to jointly pay RM5 million plus interest to the family.

2023

  • Nov Australia releases Sirul Azhar from the Villawood Immigration Detention Center in Sydney, where he has been held for years. He was among more than 90 people released from indefinite detention in Australia, following a court ruling there against such detention of those who cannot be sent back to their country. Australia's policy is to not deport individuals to another country where they face death sentences.
  • Nov 13 — Azilah is reported to be still waiting for a decision on his pardon application
  • Nov 26Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirms that only Azilah has applied for the Federal Court to review and reduce his death sentence following a new law that enables the Malaysian courts to impose life imprisonment instead, and that Sirul has not filed for a review of his death sentence.

Sirul Azhar, now aged 53, is believed to still be in Australia.


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