The father of the late Altantuya Shaariibuu has filed a judicial review application in the High Court to compel authorities to investigate the affidavit of former Special Action Unit (UTK) officer Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, who was convicted of murdering the Mongolian model 19 years ago.
Dr Shaariibuu Setev named the Inspector-General of Police, the Criminal Investigation Department director, the police, the Attorney General and the Malaysian Government as respondents.
According to lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, representing Altantuya’s family, the affidavit dated 24 September 2024 contained a statutory declaration made on 17 October 2019. She said Azilah had used the document to support his application to the Federal Court to commute his death sentence, which was later allowed.
In October 2024, a Federal Court panel chaired by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat replaced Azilah’s death sentence with 40 years’ imprisonment from the date of his arrest, less time served after a Court of Appeal decision, and 12 strokes of the cane. In her judgment, Tengku Maimun noted that the contents of the affidavit and statutory declaration had not been disputed by the prosecution.
Setev said police had not informed him of the status of the investigation carried out by Bukit Aman in 2019 into Azilah’s affidavit. He is seeking a mandamus order for the police to conclude the probe within a month of a court order and to provide detailed updates on its status within seven days. If the case is classified as no further action, he has asked that reasons be given.
The court has fixed 29 September for Setev’s application to be heard before Judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman.
Azilah avoided the gallows after the Federal Court in October 2023 reviewed his sentence under the Mandatory Death Penalty Abolition Act 2023, which gave judges discretion to impose either death or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years. Male offenders under 50 sentenced to prison terms must also receive at least 12 lashes.
Azilah was convicted in 2009, together with Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, of murdering Altantuya between 19 and 20 October 2006 in Shah Alam. Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was acquitted of abetment. The Court of Appeal acquitted Azilah and Sirul in 2013, but the Federal Court reinstated their convictions and death sentences in 2015.
Sirul fled to Australia in 2006 before the final ruling and was later detained under immigration laws until his release last year. The Federal Court rejected Azilah’s bid for a retrial in 2020, and he has since sought a royal pardon from the Sultan of Selangor.
Altantuya, who was linked to negotiations for the sale of French submarines to Malaysia, was murdered by bodyguards of then deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on 18 October 2006.