He described the murder as one of the most horrific in Malaysia, adding: “If someone applies to consider his case, the court will have to examine all the facts and circumstances of his case to decide whether he is entitled to sentence Sentence reduced.”
Altantuya was 28 and pregnant when Sirul and Azilah abducted her in Kuala Lumpur, shot her twice in the head and then blew up her body with dynamite.
Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was charged with murder but was acquitted in 2008.Credit: Associated Press
The killing is not only known for its gruesome nature, but also for the intense political intrigue surrounding it.
Altantuyaa, who worked as an interpreter in negotiations for Malaysia’s $2 billion acquisition of two French- and Spanish-built submarines in 2002, reportedly demanded $500,000 before her death without revealing details of alleged kickbacks related to the project. trade.
She also maintained a relationship with Abdul Razak Baginda, an adviser to Najib, who was defense minister at the time and became prime minister between 2009 and 2018.
Najib, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison last year for corruption in Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandalAlways denied knowing Altantuya and ordered her murder.
Abdul Razak, who was initially charged with abetting the killing, was acquitted in 2008.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was jailed last year for corruption.Credit: Associated Press
However, Altantuya’s family continued to seek justice for her and won a civil case last December in which Abdul Razak, Sirul, Azilah and the Malaysian government were held accountable and ordered to pay RM5 million. Kit ($1.67 million). On Wednesday, her family applied to increase those damages, initially seeking RM100 million.
Deputy Law Minister Singh was a lawyer for the Altantuya family before joining the current government led by Anwar Ibrahim. He has been in Australia this week talking about his country’s abolition of the mandatory death penalty.
Asked what information Sirul might have given if he was sent back to Malaysia, he said: “It’s hard for me to answer that right now. But, of course, in general, there’s a lot here about how this unfortunate incident happened in the first place. You know, did anyone order it, et cetera. Those questions are still open in Malaysia.”
Malaysia’s Deputy Law Minister Lanka Pasingh visited Australia this week.Credit: Associated Press
Whether former police commando Sirul wants to return to Malaysia or remain in Australia indefinitely is another question.
His mother Piah Samat told sydney morning herald and age When visiting him at Sydney’s Villawood immigration detention center in 2015, he said he was safer in Australia.
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Malaysia could have revoked Sirul’s death sentence, paving the way for his extradition, but it has not done so.
While the death penalty has not been fully abolished, it is now imposed only by the courts for the most serious crimes, rather than as a mandatory sentence imposed by the state.
The reforms also included changing the natural life sentence to 30 to 40 years in prison.
Malaysia has also had a moratorium on executions since 2018.
