Altantuya Murder Case 25/7/07

Altantuya Wore Diamond Ring, Branded Watch, Court Told

SHAH ALAM, June 25 (Bernama) -- A friend of Altantuya Shaariibuu testified at the sixth day murder trial that the part-time model wore what looked like a diamond-studded gold ring, a Larmes silver watch and earrings with black stones on the day she left the hotel alone to go to Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda's house.
Uuriintuya Gal Ochir, 30, a housewife, said Altantuya, 28, wore an Esprit black jacket, Levi's dark blue jeans, Gucci sandals and a small, black Fendi sling bag.
"She (Altantuya) had on her a watch, earrings with black stones and a special-looking ring. Maybe diamond, I am not sure," said the fourth prosecution witness when questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup.
Uuriintuya also told the High Court here that she did not know the brand of the watch Altantuya was wearing but was told by her friend Burmaa Oyuchimeng that it was branded and expensive.
The Larmes watch was tendered in court and Uuriintuya identified and confirmed that the watch belonged to Altantuya.
She said she was called by the police between Nov 10 and 14 last year to identify the items belonging to Altantuya which was handled by DSP Gan Tack Guan.
Uuriintuya will identify two more items belonging to Altantuya at tomorrow's hearing.
Earlier, She testified that after making the police report on Oct 20, 2006 on the missing Altantuya, she, Namiraa Gerelmaa and Altantuya's private investigator Ang Chong Beng went to Abdul Razak's house from 9pm to 10pm.
Manoj: Why did the three of you go there?
Uuriintuya: Because her disappearance was directly related to Razak Baginda.
Manoj: What happened at Razak Baginda's house when the three of you were there?
Uuriintuya: Outside the house, Ang asked where Altantuya was.
Manoj: Did you see Razak at the house?
Uuriintuya: No.
Manoj: As this was going on, did the police arrive?
Uuriintuya: Yes. The police arrived in two cars. P. Balasubramaniam too arrived in a black Mercedes Benz. He was on the phone. He passed the phone to the police officer who then talked on Bala's phone. After that, they left. Then we left.
When the prosecution called for Insp Mohd Faizol Azuhan Che Omar (who was at Abdul Razak's house) for identification purpose, there was a slight commotion when Uuriintuya charged that the policeman had received money from Burmaa through the taxi driver.
Manoj: I'm going to ask about the passing of the money. You said you saw the taxi driver give money to the policeman at the police station. When was that?
Uuriintuya: I can't remember the exact date, but Burmaa had already come from Hong Kong then. Maybe on Oct 22 or Oct 23.
Manoj: When you said you saw the taxi driver give money to the police, that was some other day?
Uuriintuya: Yes. Some other day, some other place.
When Manoj asked if she knew why the taxi driver gave money, Uuriintuya said it was to look for Altantuya, so the driver took the money from Burmaa.
There was laughter in court after Uuriintuya described the taxi driver as being without spectacles and bald, but when the driver Ong Ah Hoon entered the courtroom for identification purpose, it was noticed that he was only bald in the centre of his head.
Manoj then said, "he is not bald". At this juncture, Uuriintuya gestured by putting her hand at the centre of her head.
On the connection between herself and K. Suras Kumar, Abdul Razak's private investigator's assistant, Uuriintuya said Suras Kumar was always tailing the three of them who were staying at Hotel Malaya and had frightened them by saying that Abdul Razak would kill them.
Manoj: How many times did Suras come to your room like that?
Uuriintuya: About five times. The last time he came to the hotel, the hotel people didn't allow him to enter our room. Suras once slept on one of our beds. We were scared. We just stood around. He slept from 5am to 10am.
Manoj: When he came to the room, what did he want?
Uuriintuya: He threatened us and also Altantuya asked Suras to see Razak Baginda once. I don't understand English, but I asked Altantuya. Suras always said that RB was going to kill us, and that we should return to Mongolia.
Manoj: As a result of all this, did you lodge a police report?
Uuriintuya: Yes. Alantuya and I went to the police to lodge a report. It was in the afternoon of Oct 19, 2006. I can't remember the time.
While Altantuya was lodging the report, I was outside smoking. I saw Suras was riding a motorbike, making a circle.
To another question, Uuriintuya said Altantuya insisted to go to Abdul Razak's house alone although she told her not to do so.
"I told her that all three of us should go. But she was on the phone, sending a message. Maybe she received a message asking her to go alone. She kept insisting that if she went alone, Razak Baginda would see her. She was very confident that he would see if she was alone," Uuriintuya said.
Earlier, Uuriintuya was seen trying to keep herself calm but nevertheless shed a few tears when shown Altantuya's picture by the court interpreter.
Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, from Bukit Aman Special Action Squad are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, at a location between Lot 12843 and Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, near here, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, last year.
Abdul Razak, 46, is charged with abetting the two policemen and the offence is alleged to have been committed in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur between 9.54am on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19, last year.
The hearing before judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin continues tomorrow.

Altantuya's Cousin Shocked Over Contradictions In Police Report

SHAH ALAM, June 25 (Bernama) -- Namiraa Gerelmaa, a cousin of the murdered Mongolian model, Altantuya Shaariibuu, told the High Court here today that she was shocked over several contradictions in the police report she lodged following Altantuya's disappearance in October last year.
Cross-examined by Kamarul Hisham Kamarudin, the counsel for Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, the second accused in the Altantuya murder trial, she said several information in the report including that political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was Altantuya's husband were never given by her.
Kamarul: You said you only said four things in the report: when you came and where you stayed, when Altantuya went missing, where did she go and why she went. Doesn't it surprise you that the report said... on 19.10.06 at about 1900 while at Hotel Malaya, my friend Altantuya received a phone call from an Indian man that her husband had asked him to invite my friend to go to No 22 Jalan Setiajaya Damansara Heights?
Namiraa: This is not my words, so I am so surprise.
Namiraa, 23, the third prosecution witness, also denied that she passed the information to Altantuya's friend, Burmaa Oyunchimeg, over the telephone after Altantuya did not return to the hotel after she went to Abdul Razak's house on the night of Oct 19.
"I told Burmaa, Altantuya called and after that she didn't call and disappeared. I didn't say those words," said Namiraa, who testified in Mongolian language and was translated to English by Mongolian interpreter Enkhjargal Tsetsgee.
Sirul Azhar, 35, and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, both from the police special action squad, are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, at lots 12843 and 16735 in Mukim Bukit Raja, Shah Alam, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year. Abdul Razak, 46, is accused of abetting them.
Namiraa, in her testimony last week, said she contacted Burmaa in Hong Kong to inform her that Altantuya was missing between 11pm and 12 midnight on Oct 19.
Since Namiraa was not fluent in English, Burmaa contacted Ang Chong Beng, the private investigator engaged by Altantuya, and told him about Altantuya's disappearance to facilitate Namiraa to lodge a police report.
Kamarul: Did you hear the phone conversation between Burmaa and Ang?
Namiraa: I don't understand English but I heard the conversation.
Kamarul: So you wouldn't know whether Burmaa told Ang about this information?
Namiraa: Burmaa translated (from Mongolia) to Ang (in English).
When giving evidence on Friday, Namiraa denied giving this information in her police report.
+ "My friend got a phone call from an Indian man saying her (Altantuya) husband had asked him to bring my friend to No 22, Jalan Setiajaya, Damansara Heights (Abdul Razak's house).
+ "Later at about 8pm, my friend (Altantuya) contacted me to say that she had reached the house of her husband Abdul Razak Baginda at No 22, Jalan Setiajaya, Damansara Heights.
+. "For information, my friend is married to Abdul Razak bin Abdullah.

Abdul Razak Sent Two Men To Kill Altantuya, Witness Testifies

SHAH ALAM, June 25 (Bernama) -- The High Court here Monday heard that political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, who is charged with abetting the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, sent two men to throw the Mongolian woman and two others out of a hotel window.
Namiraa Gerelmaa, 23, from Ulan Bator, Mongolia, said she, Altantuya and their friend Uuriintuya Gal Ochir were visited a number of times at their hotel by K. Suras Kumar, the assistant of a private investigator hired by the accused, to threaten to kill them.
"None of Suras's visits were friendly. Everytime (he came), he said `Razak Baginda send me to kill you'. Of course it was not pleasant," said Namiraa during re-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup.
Namiraa: Suras came to our room about two to three times in October 2006, each visit for half an hour to five hours. He once slept on our bed from 5am to 10 am. We were standing around, scared and didn't sleep.
Manoj: Why did he come to your room?
Namiraa: Everytime he visited he pressured us, threatened to kill and throw us out of the window. Namiraa said besides Suras Kumar, private investigator P. Balasubramaniam also once came to the hotel lobby and threatened to throw them out of the hotel room window.
Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin: Did you yourself hear that Bala wanted to throw you out of the window?
Namiraa: I was told by Altantuya. She was crying and telling us.
Namiraa, who is Altantuya's cousin, said Altantuya and Uuriintuya lodged a police report the next day about the threat by Balasubramaniam and Suras Kumar.
Namiraa: The three of us were under pressure. Bala and Suras always threatened to throw us out of the window. Everyday Suras came to our hotel room between 3am and 4am, knocking our door. Bala and Suras always said Razak Baginda was going to kill us.
So, in the morning, Uuriintuya and Altantuya went to the police station to lodge a report. I knew she was under a lot of pressure.
Namiraa denied that Suras Kumar had a close relationship with one of them, as earlier suggested by Razak's counsel Wong Kian Kheong.
Namiraa, when questioned by Wong during cross-examination, had said that the threat from Balasubramaniam and Suras Kumar began four days after their arrival in Malaysia on Oct 8, 2006.
Namiraa: Suras was knocking our room door three or four days, so we called the hotel manager.
KK Wong: When Suras and Bala threatened to throw you out of the window, did you lodge a police report against them?
Namiraa: No.
KK Wong: How many days approximately that the late Altantuya went missing after she lodged the police report?
Namiraa: She made the report against Suras and Bala in the afternoon of Oct 19, 2006.
KK Wong: Despite all these threats and after the late Altantuya lodged a report, the three of you still went to the third accused's house by taxi in the evening of Oct 19, 2006?
Namiraa: Yes.
KK Wong: After all of you went back to the hotel, you said Altantuya wanted to go alone to the third accused's house. Did you ask why she persisted to go after many failed attempts to meet him?
Namiraa: Uuriintuya asked.
KK Wong: In view of the threats and the report lodged, were you worried for Altantuya's safety when she went alone to the third accused's house?
Namiraa: Yes, I was so worried.
KK Wong: Despite your worry, you still allowed Altantuya to go and see the third accused alone?
Namiraa: Yes.
KK Wong: I put it to you that the third accused never threatened the three of you.
Namiraa: Of course he did, he sent someone.
Namiraa also disagreed with counsel's suggestion that Abdul Razak did not send the two men to threaten the three of them.
She also claimed that she had never asked from Abdul Razak for money or air ticket to return to Mongolia, adding that she did not know whether Altantuya had asked for money from the accused.
She was further queried by Wong on her intention of coming to Malaysia on Oct 8, 2006.
KK Wong: You mentioned last Friday that you and Uuriintuya came to Malaysia to study.
Namiraa: Not to study but to find out about the English course available in Malaysia.
KK Wong: Do you agree that you can find out about the course in Mongolia itself? In the Internet?
Namiraa: I disagree.
KK Wong: Have you been to any university or college offering English course?
Namiraa: No, I only called.
KK Wong: Which university or college?
Namiraa: HELP Centre.
Questioned further, Namiraa disagreed with counsel's suggestion that she could contact the institute direct from Mongolia without coming to Malaysia, saying that she was not proficient in English (to talk to HELP).
She also denied lying about the purpose of her visit, and during re-examination, stated that it was to see the country and to find about the language course that she could pursue, and not to threaten anyone.
Questioned by counsel Hazman Abdullah, who is representing Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, Namiraa said she followed the news on Altantuya's death on television on Nov 27, 2006 after her return to Mongolia.
Namiraa: The news report said that a Mongolian woman was brutally murdered in Malaysia, shot twice and bombed. There was a video clip showing her picture, the scene (of the murder) and who is the murderer, Razak Baginda.
Namiraa said that a few days after lodging the police report on the missing Altantuya on Oct 20, 2006, she gave a police statement which was recorded by Sergeant Hussain Abu Bakar.
Azilah, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, from the police Special Action Squad are charged with the murder of Altantuya, 28, between Lot 12843 and Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, near here, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.
Abdul Razak, 46, is charged with abetting the murder and is alleged to have committed the offence in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur between 9.54am on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19, 2006.
The hearing continues.

Abdul Razak Baginda Threatened To Kill Us, Says Witness

SHAH ALAM, June 25 (Bernama) -- Namiraa Gerelmaa, the third witness in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial, told the High Court here Monday that she, her cousin (Altantuya) and their friend Gal Ochir Uuriintuya had lodged a police report on Oct 19, 2006 because Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda threatened to kill them.
Namiraa, 23, who accompanied Altantuya to Malaysia to look for the political analyst, said the threatening message was related to them by Abdul Razak's private investigator P. Balasubramaniam and his assistant K. Suras Kumar.
"Suras Kumar and Balasubramaniam threatened to kill us, to throw us out of the window. Every night, around 3am to 5am, Suras came to the hotel and forcefully knocked on the door to enter our room," she said during the examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup.
Today was Namiraa's second day to be called to the witness stand. Namiraa, who spoke in Mongolian and translated into English by Mongolian interpreter Engkhjargal Tsetsgee, was the first called to the stand last Friday.
Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, from the police Special Action Squad are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, at a location between lots 12843 and 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, here between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year.
Abdul Razak, 46, is charged with abetting them between 9.54am on Oct 18 last year and 9.45pm the following day in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

Abdul Razak Arrives In Court With New Look


SHAH ALAM, June 25 (Bernama) -- Abdul Razak Baginda's new hairstyle did not go unnoticed by the crowd when he arrived at the court complex here at 9.05am Monday.
His wife Mazlinda Makhzan who, as usual, was waiting for his arrival since early morning was smiling and heard calling out to him, "Razak, nice haircut!"
They were then seen walking hand in hand towards the court building.
Abdul Razak, 46, is charged with abetting the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, 28, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur between 9.54am on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19, last year.
Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, from the police Special Action Squad are charged with murdering the Mongolian part-time model between Lots 12843 and 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, here between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, last year.