A trial in the murder of Mongolian-born model and interpreter Altantuya Shaaribuu got under way today in Shah Alam , Malaysia, with a former adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as one of the defendants. The prosecutor said political consultant Abdul Razak Baginda , 47, plotted the October 19, 2006, murder with two police officers, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, who fatally shot Altantuya, and then blew her body up with C-4 in an attempt to get rid of the evidence. "Besides that, a pair of bloodstained slippers had been found in Sirul Azhar's car and analysis by the Chemistry Department had confirmed through DNA tests that the blood was Altantuya's," Abdul Majid said. Abdul Razak has admitted he had an affair with the 28-year-old Altantuya, who was born in Mongolia, and schooled in Russia and France. She was a part-time model and also worked as an interpreter and translator, as she was fluent in Mongolian, Russian, French and English. Abdul Razak has said he met Altantuya in Hong Kong in 2004, and they had a short-lived extramarital affair. After he ended it, Altantuya went to Malaysia and threatened Abdul Razak with blackmail . Today, lawyer Karpal Singh , representing Altantuya's family, asked that the judge and a defense lawyer be replaced because they distantly related by marriage. Judge Mohammad Zaki Mohammad Yasin denied the request, saying his third cousin is dead and he has "no personal interest whatsoever" in the case. Defense lawyer Hazman Ahmed's late wife was the third cousin of the judge. The trial had been scheduled to start on June 4, but was postponed after the attorney general abruptly replaced the prosecutor after he was seen playing badminton with the judge. The new prosecutor then needed more time to study the case.
A trial in the murder of Mongolian-born model and interpreter got under way today in , Malaysia, with a former adviser to Deputy Prime Minister as one of the defendants. The prosecutor said political consultant , 47, plotted the October 19, 2006, murder with two police officers, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, who fatally shot Altantuya, and then blew her body up with in an attempt to get rid of the evidence. "Besides that, a pair of bloodstained slippers had been found in Sirul Azhar's car and analysis by the Chemistry Department had confirmed through tests that the blood was Altantuya's," Abdul Majid said. Abdul Razak has admitted he had an affair with the 28-year-old Altantuya, who was born in Mongolia, and schooled in Russia and France. She was a part-time model and also worked as an interpreter and translator, as she was fluent in Mongolian, Russian, French and English. Abdul Razak has said he met Altantuya in Hong Kong in 2004, and they had a short-lived extramarital affair. After he ended it, Altantuya went to Malaysia and threatened Abdul Razak with . Today, lawyer , representing Altantuya's family, asked that the judge and a defense lawyer be replaced because they distantly related by marriage. Judge Mohammad Zaki Mohammad Yasin denied the request, saying his third cousin is dead and he has "no personal interest whatsoever" in the case. Defense lawyer Hazman Ahmed's late wife was the third cousin of the judge. The trial had been scheduled to start on June 4, but was postponed after the attorney general abruptly replaced the prosecutor after he was seen playing with the judge. The new prosecutor then needed more time to study the case.
D
Altantuya Shaaribuu
D
Shah Alam
D
Najib Tun Razak
D
Abdul Razak Baginda
D
C-4
D
DNA
D
blackmail
D
Karpal Singh
D
badminton