SHAH ALAM: ‘She mentioned his name as Razak at that time, but I don’t know whether it was Razak Baginda or Najib Razak,’ said the father of the late Altantuya Shaariibuu.
He said this when testifying at the trial of the suit he filed against three accused and the government over his daughter’s death at the High Court, here.
Dr Shaariibuu Setev, 69, who testified in the Mongolian language, said this transpired on his daughter’s departure to Malaysia in August, 2006.
“Between Aug 7 and 8, 2006, Altantuya contacted me and told me she was leaving for Malaysia tomorrow. I asked her to come and see me. I knew that she often travel to Malaysia before this.
“So, I asked her whether she was seeing someone in Malaysia. She said she was in a relationship with a ‘big man’ (public figure) named “Baginda” and it was important for her to go to Malaysia as she wanted to make some arrangements for the treatment of her youngest son who was suffering from cerebral palsy (CP) or brain damage,” he said.
Shaariibuu said at that time he asked who was ‘Baginda’ and was told that they (Altantuya and Abdul Razak Baginda) had met in Hong Kong.
“While we were talking, Altantuya went to the bathroom and her phone rang so I opened her handbag and saw a photograph of her with two men but I did not know who they were.
“I asked Altantuya who were these men and she told me that they were the people that she was going to meet in Malaysia,” he said.
Shaariibuu said he discovered evidence such as a flight ticket, jewellery and money transfer receipts into his daughter’s bank account.
“I saw a flight ticket dated March 23, 2005, which was bought by Razak and a receipt dated March 24, 2005 for the purchase of jewellery worth RM11,300 under Abdul Razak Abdullah’s name.
“I also found a letter dated March 2, 2006, from Abdul Razak stating that he had transferred a payment of USD18,000(RM74, 462) to Altantuya. It was signed by Altantuya herself,” he said.
Earlier, to a question by lawyer Ramkarpal Singh, Shaariibuu said he does not know what Abdul Razak looks like.
According to Shaariibuu, on Nov 19, 2006, he received a call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia informing him about Altantuya’s death.
“I went there and they showed me a formal letter from Malaysia which was written in English. The letter was translated to the Mongolian language and it said that a Mongolian woman named Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered.
“I was shocked and could not remember what happened. However, I came to Malaysia and met Datuk Syed Abdul Rahman Al-Habshi who was Mongolia's Honorary Consul in Malaysia,” he said.
Shaariibuu said Deputy Superintendent Gan Tack Guan came to see him with a doctor to take a blood sample for a DNA test.
“I was informed that they found blood, hair and bones at the scene and the test results confirmed that it was of Altantuya’s.
“I was also taken to the scene. Before that, I looked for a Buddhist monk from a Sri Lankan temple in Kuala Lumpur. They (Buddhist monks) told me that Altantuya had gone to the temple before,” he said.
Earlier, Shaariibuu told the court that Altantuya who was also known as Amina was fluent in Russian and English languages and had worked as a freelance translator.
Shaariibuu, who has retired, works part time at a university in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. He told the court that since Altantuya’s death, his wife Altantsetseg was bedridden and his grandson died in 2007 due to complications from a disease.