ALTANTUYA BRUTAL MURDER - Court frees Azilah, Sirul of Altantuya murder charge

Court frees Azilah, Sirul of Altantuya murder charge

The Court of Appeal today freed Special Action Unit officers Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar of the charge of murdering Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.

This followed the court's unanimous decision to allow the duo's appeal in the sensational case.

However, the prosecution would have the opportunity to appeal with the Federal Court - the country's highest court.

Justice Md Apandi Ali led the three-member bench but the judgment was read out by Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who ruled there was serious misdirection by the High Court judge.

As soon as the court's decision was read, the two accused said: "Thank you, your lordships."

The misdirection included the non-calling of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's former aide de camp DSP Musa Safri and the failure to take into consideration the police station's diary which stated that Azilah was at Bukit Aman at the material time.

The other judges were justices Linton Albert and Tengku Maimon Tuan Mat.

Alibi not taken into consideration

Shah Alam High Court judge Md Zaki Yassin had on April 2009 convicted the two of murder but acquitted Najib's close confidant, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda ( left ), of abetting the murder.

Justice Tengku Maimun said the court did not find anywhere in the High Court's judgment about whether it had considered the alibi and the inconsistency in the telephone call logs of the accused.

"These includes the police station's diary which states that Azilah was at Bukit Aman and not at the crime scene.

"The learned trial judge had misdirected himself by way of non-direction in failing to consider the station's diary and in failing to make a finding whether the defence had cast a reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case," she said.

On the call logs, she said the court found inconsistencies in the testimony of the telephone company's witnesses, which had put an issue to the accuracy of the calls in question and the coverage protection.

"In our judgment, it is essential for the trial judge to address his mind to the challenge raised by the defence on whether there was in fact alteration or tampering of the data and whether the authenticity of the data was questionable or otherwise.

"Regrettably, the judge failed to do so and this amounts to serious misdirection rendering the exhibits (the call logs) unsafe to be relied upon," she said.

Inconsistency in police testimonies

The court also ruled that there were inconsistencies in the testimonies of the police's prosecution witness leading to the discovery of the crime scene, where the High Court judge did not examine the credibility and did not address the defence's contention.

"This has raised a doubt on the accuracy of the section 27 statements and whether the discovery was made exclusively as a result of the information supplied by the two appellants (the two accused) and not from other sources," said Tengku Maimun.

On the possession of explosives, Tengku Maimun said the High Court judge should have made a further finding to connect the explosives with the two accused.

"By not making any finding on possession by the appellants of the explosives used in the commission of the murder, the learned trial judge had failed to address his mind on this missing link resulting in yet another misdirection," she said.

The defence had argued that the type of explosives used in the murder was not kept in the police armoury.

Tengku Maimum also ruled that the non-calling of Musa (Najib's aide de camp) was essential.

"This is to unfold the narrative upon which the prosecution's case is based on. The failure of the prosecution to call or offer Musa for cross-examination in the circumstances of the evidence as a whole would have triggered adverse inference under section 114 (g) of the Evidence Act 1950 against the prosecution," she said.

The Court of Appeal also found that justice Md Zaki (High court) had failed to establish whether there was common intention.

"We find the judge made no finding on whether the prosecution had established that there was a pre-arranged plan by the appellants to commit murder and that murder was committed pursuant to the pre-arranged plan.

"In our judgment the absence of such finding by the learned trial judge on the ingredient of common intention amounted to a misdirection by way of non-direction," Tengku Maimun ruled.

Blood-stained slippers and spent bullet

On the issue of the blood-stained slippers (allegedly Altantuya's) found in Sirul's car, the court ruled there was no nexus between the slippers and Sirul and the prosecution had not closed the gap.

There were questions about the blood-stained slippers as they were not Sirul's size and it was not ascertained who owned it.

On the issue of a spent bullet found in Sirul's car, again the court found that there was a gap in the prosecution's case and the High Court judge had failed to direct his mind to the matter.

"It is our judgment the cumulative effect of the non-directions by the judged rendered the conviction unsafe. We unanimously allow both appeals. Conviction and sentence are set aside. The appellants are acquitted and discharged," said Tengku Maimun.

Azilah was represented by Hazman Ahmad and J Kuldeep Kumar, while Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin and Hasnal Rezua Merican appeared for Sirul.

Deputy solicitor-general III Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah led a team of prosecutors that comprised DPP's Manoj Kurup and Noorin Badaruddin.

Altantuya ( left ) was murdered in the forest of Puncak Alam near Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

According to the lawyers, the two accused could be released from prison later today. Sirul is being held at the Tapah prison while Azilah is in the Kajang prison.