KUALA LUMPUR: The request from the government to extradite former policeman, Sirul Azhar Umar, who was convicted of murdering Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006, has been granted by the Australian authorities.
Citing sources, English daily The Guardian on Thursday reported that Australia had given the green light after Malaysia agreed to cover the costs of bringing back the former corporal and bodyguard of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The report said Sirul, who fled to seek refuge in Australia in 2014 and was detained in the Villawood detention centre in Sydney for overstaying his tourist visa, is expected to leave the country within a month.
The new government under Pakatan Harapan could be considering in re-opening the Altantuya murder case, the report said.
Sirul and fellow Special Action Unit member Azilah Hadri were convicted of Altantuya’s murder by the Federal Court in January 2015 and sentenced to death.
Altantuya was said to have been involved in a sexual tryst with former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib.
Razak was acquitted of abetting the murder in 2008 without his defence being called.