Altantuya Murder Case 12/07/07

Azilah, Sirul Azhar Were Never Relieved Of UTK Duties - Sri Kumar

SHAH ALAM, July 12 (Bernama) -- Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, the first and second accused in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, were never relieved of their duties as Special Action Force (UTK) operatives, a UTK training officer testified Thursday.
DSP M.V. Sri Kumar told the murder trial that Azilah, 30, and Sirul Azhar, 35, would be relieved of their duties only if they had failed in the monthly physical, shooting skills and swimming tests or had continuously skipped training while in service.
UTK operatives are considered experienced and knowledgeable the longer they served in the force and underwent a lot of training, said Sri Kumar, 41, who joined the UTK on June 20 1992, on the 18th day of the high-profile trial.
Questioned by DPP Noorin Badaruddin whether a UTK operative with long service and had never been relieved of duties showed he was consistent in his performance, he said: "Yes, in all fields of training, including in handling firearms."
Azilah, 30, and Sirul Azhar, 35, are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year while political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 46, is accused of abetting them.
Earlier, Sri Kumar, told the High Court that policemen and police officers were required to attend an interview before they were picked for a two-week initial selection test.
The successful candidates would then undergo a three-month basic training, he said.
It was during the basic training that they would be exposed to handling of bombs and other weapons.
After completing the basic training, they would be absorbed into the force and would undergo in-service training under their respective unit heads.
Saying that explosives were not used in all in-service training, he said there was a possibility that Azilah and Sirul Azhar underwent the training (handling explosives under their respective heads).
He said unit leaders would decide whom to collect and return the explosives to the armoury after they are used for in-service trainings.
The UTK has stringent conditions to take out explosives from the armoury, he added.
The trial resumes on Monday.

Prosecution To Play Hotel Malaya CCTV Tapes In Court On Monday

SHAH ALAM, July 12 (Bernama) -- Recordings of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at Hotel Malaya where Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, was staying before her murder, will be viewed in court on Monday.
Lead prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah told the High Court that the earlier arrangement for the court to view the recordings at the hotel's control room has been called off.
This was because the hotel's office where the monitor screen is placed was too small and cannot accommodate all the parties involved in the trial to view the recordings.
As a result, he said, a new arrangement has been made for the recordings to be played and viewed in court. Setting up of the equipment for the viewing will be ready by Monday, he said.
Meanwhile, the high-profile trial before Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin continued, with the 17th prosecution witness, Jimmy Loo Mow Chan, Hotel Malaya operations manager, testifying.

Azilah Was Never Instructed To Perform Detonations, Says Witness

SHAH ALAM, July 12 (Bernama) -- Chief Insp Azilah Hadri, the first accused in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, was never instructed to perform detonations in any operation since his service with the Special Action Force (UTK) four years ago, the High Court here was told Thursday.
DSP M.V. Sri Kumar, 41, training officer of the UTK, said Azilah did not have the skill to breach explosives and only experts were allowed to do the job.
Sri Kumar, the prosecutions' 16 witness, said the second accused, Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, who is also a UTK member, also did not have the skill to handle explosives.
They only had basic training in handling explosives when they joined the UTK but they could have undergone training in explosives at other times during their service, he said.
During basic training, they were exposed to the handling of explosives under the supervision of a team leader, he added.
Sri Kumar, who joined the UTK on June 20 1992, was testifying under cross-examination by Azilah's counsel, Hazman Ahmad on the 18th day of the trial.
Azilah, 30, and Sirul Azhar, 35, are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year while political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 46, is accused of abetting them.
Earlier, when examined by deputy public prosecutor Noorin Badaruddin, Sri Kumar said that during basic training, after completing the theory which covered explosives, wiring and safety, the trainees would be taken to the bombing range and given some explosives to detonate before a trainer.
Noorin: During operations who decides gets the explosives?
Sri Kumar: The respective team leaders would choose the trainees who would handle the explosives and the type of explosives to bring along.
Noorin: What is the procedure after training or an operation involving explosives ends?
Sri Kumar: When all the explosives are used up, it ends there. If there is any left over, the officer who filled the form or the personnel who took out the explosives should return them to the store.
Asked whether the group members could take away any leftover explosives or accessories without anyone's knowledge, he said that if the officer requested 500gm of plastic explosive, for example, and did not use it, then the amount returned to the store must be 500gm.
He said that if the explosives had been used and there was excess, it should be returned to the store.
"For plastic explosives of PE, they are not taken in their raw form during operations. Normally they are shaped before they are taken for operations.
"So the officer supervising the explosives will take the shaped charge for the operation. If it's not used, the shaped charge will be returned to the store in the same shape," he said.
Sri Kumar said that during training and operations under his supervision, there was no possibility of loss of explosives, "not even a single bit".
However, he was not sure whether losses occurred under the supervision of other officers.
Earlier, the court was told of the types of explosives used by the UTK and how they function. Justice Mohd Zaki Md Yasin even commented that today's session was like "learning the theory of explosives".
Sri Kumar said the explosives used and stored in the UTK store included PE, Cutting Liner Charge (CLC), detonating or det cord, detonator and sound devices like flash bang.
On the C4 explosive, he said it was a composition of four substances but was not available at the UTK
Asked whether any of the explosives could be detonated without the help of accessories he said that only the detonator could blow up by itself.
Sri Kumar said the PE found in the UTK was like plasticine, pink in colour and packed in 500gm slabs like butter and could be could be easily shaped with the hand.
He said that except for the flash bang (which only let out a sound) the others were categorised as high explosives with speed of 1000-9000m per second.
He added that the claymore mine wire was a explosive which could be detonated with a electrical charge, including from a car battery with 12 volt power source.
Throughout Sri Kumar's testimony, Azilah and Sirul Azhar were listening attentively.
When Noorin asked about the quantity of PE needed to blow up an object like a door or grille, Sri Kumar said: "It depends on the door or grille and the degree of explosion. It is enough to break a solid wooden door with only 100gm."
He said a detonator must be used because it was the life of the explosion and for a more effective explosion, if the PE was insufficient, CLC could be used to add strength.
"A wire will be used for safety purposes. It is connected to the fuse.
Under cross-examination by Sirul Azhar's counsel, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, on whether the military also used the explosives used by the UTK, Sri Kumar said: "They are also used in other units of the Royal Malaysia Police like the bomb disposal squad and the general forces team but I don't know whether they are used in the military."
On the effect of CLC if detonated above ground, he said it would form a crater and if the CLC was directed towards the earth, then it would head earthwards but the power of the explosion was spread overall.
He said CLC must be used together with a detonator and the wire must be connected to a clicker and after the explosion, the wire near the CLC could be shattered and frayed but the end far away from it would be intact.
The hearing continues tomorrow.

Witness Says Azilah Never Had Any Specialised Training On Handling Explosives

SHAH ALAM, July 12 (Bernama) -- Chief Insp Azilah Hadri, the first accused in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, had never been instructed to perform detonations in any operation, the High Court here was told Thursday.
DSP M.V. Sri Kumar, 41, training officer of the Bukit Aman Special Action Force (UTK), said that throughout his service, he had never instructed Azilah to perform detonations because Azilah did not have any specialised training on handling explosives.
He also confirmed that the second accused, Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, also had no such training and that both only underwent basic training when they joined the force.
He said that each officer tasked with taking explosives from the armoury had recorded the amount taken and when the remainder was returned, the amount had also to be recorded.
"They had no opportunity to take away the remainder on the sly," he said at the trial of Azilah, 30, and Sirul Azhar, 35, both from the UTK, charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year.
Also in the dock was political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 46, charged with abetting them. The trial entered its 18th day today.
Sri Kumar said there was no likelihood at all of explosives going missing during training and operations under him.
However, he was not sure whether there had been such losses during training and operations under other superior officers.