Thesun 2009-01-21 Page06 Sirul To Make Statement From Dock Tomorrow

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theSun

| WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21 2009

news without borders

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court yesterday fixed Feb 13 for a decision on whether or not to refer blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s case transfer issue to the Federal Court on a constitutional question. Judicial Commissioner Zainal Azman Ab Aziz set the date after hearing submissions from Raja Petra’s counsel, Manjeet Singh Dhillon, and deputy public prosecutor Anselm Charles Fernandis. On Nov 25, 2008, Raja Petra filed a notice of motion in the High Court seeking an order to refer the case transfer issue to the Federal Court on a constitutional question or to transfer the case back to the magistrate’s court. On Aug 15, 2008, magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham allowed the prosecution’s application to transfer the case to the sessions court on the ground that it involved public interest. Raja Petra, 58, through his counsel, made a preliminary objection and applied for a sessions court order for the case to be returned to the magistrate’s court on the ground that the magistrate’s court order to transfer the case to the sessions court contravened Section 177 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). However, on Nov 28, sessions court judge Mohamad Sekeri Mamat ruled that he would leave it to the High Court to decide on whether to have the case transferred back to the magistrate’s court. Raja Petra, the editor of the Malaysia-Today portal, is charged with defaming the deputy prime minister’s wife, Datin Rosmah Mansor, Lt-Kol Abdul Aziz Buyong and his wife Lt-Kol Norhayati Hassan in a statutory declaration at the Jalan Duta Court Complex on June 18. Manjeet Singh submitted that the High Court, under Section 84(1) of Courts of Judicature Act 1964 (COJA), could refer the question on Section 177 of the Criminal Procedure Code (transfer order) to the Federal Court as the question had not yet been considered by the Federal Court. He said the magistrate’s order to transfer the case to the sessions court for trial had exposed Raja Petra to a potentially higher punishment in a sessions court than another similarly indicated person tried in the magistrate’s court for the same offence. “I’m not challenging the attorney-general’s vested power to choose any court to initiate proceedings against a person, but in this case, the appellant is said to have committed an offence which should be tried at the magistrate’s court. If that is so, the A-G should come to court to explain the offence,” he said. – Bernama

Sirul to make statement from dock tomorrow Altantuya

Sirul Azhar (left) and Azilah arrive for the hearing yesterday.

ACCUSED

Victim Altantuya Shaariibuu, 28

• Chief Insp Azilah • Cpl Sirul Azhar Umar, 37 Hadri, 32

by Maria J. Dass [email protected]

Kamarul ... says defence needs documents to prepare statement.

SHAH ALAM: The second accused in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial, Cpl Sirul Azhar Umar, will make his statement from the dock tomorrow. But first, his lawyers want the prosecution to release some documents to enable them to prepare the statement. These documents include statements by Sirul Azhar’s superior, DSP Musa Safri, and some “unused information” in the form of text messages extracted from the handphones of certain individuals. The information was not tendered in court as evidence by the prosecution, said Sirul Azhar’s lawyer, Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, who asked for two days for his team to prepare the written statement. Kamarul will be making an oral application for the documents to be given to his team today. Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yassin set aside tomorrow for Sirul Azhar to make his statement. Chief Insp Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar, both from the police special action unit (UTK), are charged with murdering Altantunya, a Mongolian, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006 in Mukim Bukit Raja here. T h e y were ordered on Oct 31 last year to enter their defence. Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged

with abetting them, was acquitted. Earlier, Azilah told the court both he and Sirul Azhar were strangers to Altantunya and had no motive to kill her. Responding to questions from Kamarul, he said that apart from helping Abdul Razak, he and Sirul Azhar did not have any personal problems with Altantunya. Azilah said Abdul Razak never instructed or requested him to hurt Altantuya, whom he referred to as the “Chinese woman” throughout his testimony. He said Abdul Razak referred to Altantuya as a Chinese woman when he was speaking to him about her and added that he did not know she was a Mongolian national. Kamarul: The prosecution contended that you killed or eliminated the Chinese woman. What is your motive to do anything of that sort? Azilah: I do not have any motive and why would I do something stupid like that? I am a police officer. Azilah also testified that he sought assistance from Sirul Azhar, who was his subordinate, because he was a good personnel. He said Sirul Azhar never received instructions from anyone other than himself on the task of advising Altantunya to stop harassing and threatening Abdul Razak. He described his relationship with Sirul Azhar as one confined to work and said Abdul Razak and Sirul Azhar did not

know each other. Azilah said he told Sirul Azhar the assignment was to back him up for a task to assist Musa. He agreed that his request for Sirul Azhar to be outside Abdul Razak’s house on the evening of Oct 19 was outside the scope of this task but said he asked Sirul Azhar to come along “just in case the Chinese man who accompanied the Chinese woman would be there”. He said there was no need for Sirul Azhar’s assistance that night after Altantunya left with him and his girlfriend L/Cpl Rohaniza Roslan to be sent back to the hotel. When the judge asked him why he tailed Sirul Azhar after Sirul Azhar got off Rohaniza’s car and drove off in his 4-wheel drive vehicle, Azilah said: “The road led to many place in the city and Bukit Aman and at the same time, I was driving slowly as I was advising the Chinese woman.” Mohd Zaki: Why did you get off and go to his car when he stopped halfway down the road? Azilah: I wanted to see if he needed any assistance. Azilah said he went back to his car and found out that Rohaniza did not have time to send Altantunya back to her hotel. He said it was then that he called Sirul Azhar for assistance to send her back to the hotel and that Sirul Azhar agreed and asked them to meet him in Bukit Aman where he picked up the woman. The hearing continues.

KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/THESUN

Decision on whether to refer blogger’s application to Federal Court