Altantuya Murder Case- 05/07/07

Sirul Trembled When Azilah Exposed He Killed Altantuya

SHAH ALAM, July 5 (Bernama) -- Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar trembled and fidgeted when told that Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri confessed that he (Sirul Azhar) had killed and blown up Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu with explosives.
Police Special Action Squad assistant commander, ACP Mastor Mohd Ariff said Sirul Azhar was clearly in a nervous state after he told him Azhar's revelation on their flight back to Malaysia from Pakistan.
"Sirul took several minutes to respond to the allegation against him," said Mastor, when testifying as the 11th prosecution witness in the Altantuya murder trial at the High Court here today.
Sirul Azhar, 35, and Azilah, 30, both from Bukit Aman UTK, are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, in Mukim Bukit Raja here between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006. Political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 46, is charged with abetting the murder.
Mastor, 45, said that information on Azilah's revelation was obtained from CID deputy director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan, who had instructed him to bring Sirul Azhar back to Malaysia.
Mastor said he told Sirul Azhar that the real reason for him to bring him back to Malaysia was over a missing Mongolian woman, and what Datuk Syed Ismail had informed him about Azilah's revelation during interrogation.
Azilah's revelation was that the second accused (Sirul Azhar) had killed the Mongolian woman and blown her up with explosives.
"I told him (Sirul Azhar) that since the matter (killing) was now in the open after Azilah had exposed it, there was no need for him to hide anything," he said after he was asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah to relate whah happened on the flight.
He said Sirul Azhar was seated next to him when he told him about the matter during the flight to Kuala Lumpur after their transit in Bangkok at 11.20am on Nov 6, 2006.
In his testimony yesterday, Mastor said he had initially told Sirul Azhar that he was ordered to immediately bring him back to Malaysia over a police report lodged by his ex-wife against him.
Mastor also said yesterday that following orders from Syed Ismail, he left for Islamabad on Nov 4, 2006 accompanied by two UTK members to bring Sirul Azhar back who was on security duty for the Prime Minister who was visiting Pakistan.
Hazman Ahmad, counsel for Azilah, objected to Mastor's testimony today and asked that it not be recorded before the court could decide whether his client's confession was made voluntarily.
Hazman: As long as Datuk Syed (Ismail) is not called, the witness' testimony is based on hearsay. We do not know whether the first accused made a confession to Datuk Syed (during interrogation). His (witness) testimony incriminates my client. If the witness is allowed to continue, it would be in the court records and would influence the court. It's better to hold a trial-within-a-trial.
The court than began a trial-within-a-trial to decide whether the confession made by Sirul Azhar was voluntary and without threat or force.
The witness was again asked to take his oath to tell the truth before judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yassin.
Mastor, who has been with the UTK for 19 years, said when tasked with bringing back Sirul Azhar from Pakistan to Malaysia, he instructed Sergeant Jelima Tasiran and Corporal Zamri Abu to accompany him to Islamabad, departing on Nov 4, 2006.
Tun Abdul Majid: What was the reason you gave to bring the second accused back when you met him in Pakistan?
Mastor: The reason I gave was that his ex-wife had lodged a report against him over a domestic problem and that he should return to Malaysia to solve it in order to protect the good name of the police.
Tun Abdul Majid: Did he believe the reason?
Mastor: I had a feeling he believed it.
Mastor said on the flight back to Kuala Lumpur after their transit in Bangkok, he revealed to Sirul Azhar the real reason for bringing him back to Malaysia when he was seated next to him in the MAS aircraft.
Tun Abdul Majid: What did you tell him?
Mastor: I told him that the CID deputy director Datuk Syed Ismail had instructed me to bring him back to Malaysia over the case of a missing Mongolian woman. Datuk Syed also told me that during interrogation, the first accused revealed that Sirul Azhar had killed and blown up the Mongolian woman.
Hazman once again objected to the recording of the testimony.
Tun Abdul Majid explained: We need to know what made the second accused confess. So, this evidence is relevant. Only the confession will be an issue, whether it was made voluntarily or not.
If later it is decided that it (confession) was not done voluntarily, everything would be wiped out.
Judge Mohd Zaki: It was not a confession, but the real reason that the witness told to the second accused. Continue.
Mastor said although he expected Sirul Azhar to respond, he never coerced, forced, encouraged, pressured or promised him anything.
He said as Sirul Azhar's superior, he only asked him to tell the truth.
"I told him that the case was now in the open, Azilah had divulged what happened and so there was no need to hide anything," said Mastor, adding that Sirul Azhar was trembling and appeared anxious and took two to three minutes before he spoke.

Sirul Azhar Murdered Altantuya, UTK Deputy Commander Told

SHAH ALAM, July 5 (Bernama) -- The deputy commander of the police elite special action squad (UTK) said he was informed that Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, the second accused in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial, killed the Mongolian model in October last year.
ACP Mastor Mohd Ariff, the second in command in the UTK branch where Sirul Azhar, 35, was attached to, said the then Federal CID deputy director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan told him that it was Sirul Azhar who committed the murder.
Syed Ismail got the information from Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, the first accused in the high-profile murder trial that gripped the nation.
Mastor, 45, the 11th prosecution witness, said while on a MAS flight from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, he explained to Sirul Azhar that he was bringing him back to Malaysia from the escort duty in Pakistan on the orders of Syed Ismail in connection with the disappearance of a Mongolian woman.
Testifying on the 14th day of the widely-followed murdered trial, Mastor said Syed Ismail told him that Azilah had revealed during investigations into the murder case that the Mongolian model had been murdered and her body was blown up with explosives and that it was Sirul Azhar who did that.
Mastor, who had served with Royal Malaysia Police force for 25 years and had 19 years experience with the UTK, said Sirul Azhar gave him an answer after he informed him of the matter.
High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin then ordered for a trial-within-a-trial to determine the voluntariness of Sirul Azhar's confession.
Giving evidence in the trial-within-a-trial, Mastor said he later asked Sirul Azhar to tell the truth.
"The story has been exposed. I hope you tell the truth and you cannot hide anything," he said.
Mastor said he observed that Sirul Azhar appeared worried and he responded late, about two or three minutes later.
Queried by lead prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, Mastor said he did not threaten, coerce or persuade Sirul Azhar to reply.
Azilah and Sirul Azhar, both from Bukit Aman-based UTK operatives, are charged with murdering 28-year-old Altantuya here between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year.
Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 46, is charged with abetting them.
The three face the death sentence if convicted.