PUTRAJAYA: Due to many contradictions and discrepancies in evidence produced by the prosecution, a Federal Court here today heard that a High Court had erred in establishing a prima facie case against two police special action unit personnel who were convicted of murdering Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Lawyer Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, who represented one of the accused, Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, submitted as such to the court during the appeal hearing brought by the prosecution against Sirul and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, for murdering Altantuya.
Despite being convicted, the Court of Appeal acquitted the duo last year.
During the hearing, Kamarul Hisham also contended that his client was framed by the police.
"There is no evidence from the prosecution that a gun was used in murdering Altantuya...it is pure conjecture that some sort of weapon was used.
"The prosecution must go on evidence and cannot rely based on conjecture."
Thus, he said it was unsafe to take in evidence produced by the prosecution which were the jewellery found in Sirul's jacket and a bloodied slipper in his car, both containing Altantuya's DNA.
He said prosecution witnesses contradicted each other during the occasion the jewellery was found and that there was a possibility for two sets of keys to Sirul's house after his superior ACP Mastor Mohd Ariff, SP11, testified that the keys tendered in court were not the ones he gave his officers.
He also said his client had testified that the original set of keys, which had a green keychain stating the house number, was kept in a tray in his office and that it was possible that the police had access to the keys when he was away in Pakistan on an official trip with then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
As such, Kamarul Hisham submitted that his client was framed.
"Giving his (Sirul) statement from the dock, he did say the real people who are responsible for this crime are not in court and that he was made a scapegoat."
On this point, judge Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar questioned the veracity of the counsel's claim.
"You are saying the police set him (Sirul) up. Do you have an iota of evidence to prove as such?"
Kamarul Hisham responded saying only the set of house keys suggested a frame-up.
After hearing final submissions from Kamarul Hisham, lawyer J. Kuldeep Kumar who represented Azilah and Deputy Solicitor-General II of the Attorney-General’s Chambers Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, the five-man panel chaired by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria reserved their judgement.
Arifin said a date for decision will be fixed later.
Both the accused were present in court.
Arifin was assisted by Suriyadi Halim, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong and Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop.
The Court of Appeal had on Aug 23 last year, acquitted Azilah, 38, and Sirul, 43, of murdering Altantuya.
In acquitting the two, the court held that there were misdirections by the Shah Alam High Court judge who heard the case.
It said their guilt had not been satisfactorily proven, "thus, the court was constrained to give them the benefit of the doubt".
The prosecution had filed a notice of appeal against the Court of Appeal decision on January this year.
Azilah and Sirul, both members of the Special Action Unit, were found guilty in 2009 by the High Court of murdering the woman at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006 and 1am, on Oct 20, 2006.
Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, who was initially charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul, was acquitted by the High Court on Oct 31, 2008 after the court held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
The prosecution did not appeal this decision.