Things may not be looking too good for Sirul Azhar Umar, the former Malaysian police officer who is entangled in the Altantuya Shaaribuu murder case. Known as the hitman of the high profile Mongolian translator case back in 2006, the killing made headlines for the brutal way they murdered her.
Sirul had escaped to Australia before he was sentenced to hang for the murder and is reportedly in Australian custody. Sirul had claimed that he was given the order by “important people” to murder Altantuya and had previously threatened to spill the beans on who the mastermind behind it was, The Star reported.
However, after his release, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has since urged the authorities to order Sirul to face a new trial. He suggested that Sirul should be brought back and given a new trial as the justice of the original trial may have been compromised.
He said, “The judges’ ruling was compromised and the reluctance of the judges to call relevant witnesses made a mockery of the law. The best way is to proffer a new charge and allow for a full hearing of the case.”
Both Sirul and another accomplice, Azilah Hadri are members of an elite unit that protects top Malaysian ministers. It has long been suspected that both of them were just scapegoats who were instructed to do the bidding of people in the highest levels of the then-government.
There was no motive found for the brutal killing, which involved shooting her with a high-powered semi-automatic gun and destroying her body with military grade explosives. She was also the lover of Abdul Razak Baginda, who had been close to Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
In April 2018, an Umno official visited Sirul who was detained in Australia to pass him a message. He told Sirul, “Don’t say anything” but Sirul’s bid for a protection visa in Australia is up for a hearing. If he wants to stay there, he needs to reveal the details about the mastermind behind the vicious killing of Altantuya to prove he is not a threat to the Australian community.
Let’s hope that Altantuya’s family can finally see justice being served to the real murderers!
Also read: New Federal Gov May Re-Open Altantuya Case, Najib in Risky Situation