MONGOLIAN Altantuya Shaariibuu continues to haunt Malaysians 13 years after her grisly murder, and to date, despite evidence, testimonies and convictions in court, no concrete motive has ever been established by investigators.

Two police officers from the Special Action Force (UTK) have been found guilty of the murder – Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri is on death row in Kajang Prison while Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar is detained at an immigration centre in Australia after fleeing the country in 2015.

The then defence minister and deputy prime minister Najib Razak’s aide, Abdul Razak Baginda, was also charged with conspiracy in the murder but was acquitted without his defence being called.

Azilah caused a stir this week by accusing Najib of masterminding the murder. Sirul, however, in 2016 had cleared Najib of the murder in a video recording.

Lawyers acting for Altantuya’s family want a fresh probe following Azilah’s latest revelation in his explosive statutory declaration (SD).

Here are some of the key players in the murder that took place in October 2006.

Sirul Azhar Umar

Sirul was a police commando with the rank of corporal. He was charged together with Azilah with murdering Altantuya in October 2006. They were both initially acquitted in 2013 but the Federal Court in 2015 overturned the acquittal by the Court of Appeal.

Both were sentenced to death by hanging but Sirul had already by then fled the country and moved to Australia when the verdict was delivered. He was caught for overstaying and is currently detained at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre.

The Australian government will only deport Sirul back if Putrajaya can promise the former policeman will not be hanged.

Azilah Hadri

Azilah Hadri was a police commando with the rank of chief inspector. He was charged together with Sirul in the murder of Altantuya. Unlike Sirul who managed to flee abroad, Azilah has been imprisoned in Kajang Prison on death row. He is now seeking a review of the Federal Court decision which had convicted him.

Not much is known about Azilah but he testified in court that he received instructions from DSP Musa Safri, who was then aide-de-camp to Najib Razak, to guard Razak’s home.

According to news reports, Azilah managed to talk to Altantuya and instructed Sirul to send her back to her hotel after they picked her up in front of Razak’s house.

It was said that Azilah left in a separate vehicle and claimed he had an alibi when he parted ways with Sirul.

In a statutory declaration made public yesterday, Azilah accused Najib of the murder, saying he received instructions from the former prime minister to carry out the “assignment” as the Mongolian woman was a foreign spy.

Abdul Razak Baginda

Razak was Najib’s close associate and was charged with abetting in the murder of Altantuya together with Sirul and Azilah in November 2006.

He was cleared from the charges two years later when the court decided that there was no prima facie case against him.

As Najib’s adviser, he assisted Najib to purchase two Scorpene-class submarines and one Agosta-class submarine from France – a period during which he was said to have known Altantuya.

Razak was charged in France in July 2017 with “active and passive complicity in corruption” and “misappropriation of corporate assets.”

In May 2019, AFP reported that the Paris appeal court had dropped the charges of “passive corruption”, while retaining the remainder of the charge sheet against him.

Razak was said to be Altantuya’s lover and he had introduced the Mongolian woman to Najib when they met in France.

DSP Musa Safri

Musa was the aide-de-camp to Najib at the time of the murder. Prior to his appointment as Najib’s personal assistant, Musa was attached to the police’s Special Branch unit.

He has since retired from the force with the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner with the Special Branch.

Despite being implicated as one of the key witnesses in the murder of Altantuya, Musa was not called to testify in court.

When Altantuya’s father, Shaariibuu Setev, filed a fresh police report about Altantuya’s murder in June 2018 – a month after Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya, former inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said police have recorded Musa’s statement.

However, Fuzi did not elaborate further and the matter is still pending.

Musa is once again directly implicated in Azilah’s statutory declaration, being labeled as the go-between guy for Najib and Azilah. His current whereabouts are unknown.

PI Bala

P. Balasubramaniam was an ex-cop turned private investigator who was hired by Razak to stop Altantuya from harassing him.

Balasubramaniam, better known as PI Bala, became the central figure in the death of Altantuya after he made an explosive statutory declaration on July 1, 2008 accusing Najib as the mastermind in the murder. He had also said he had knowledge of a sexual relationship between Najib and Altantuya.

However, Bala retracted his first SD a few days later and came up with a second SD in which he cleared Najib’s name. He and his family had then left the country and settled in India for a few years.

He returned home in February 2013 only to announce that his first SD against Najib was the truth. Bala suffered a heart attack a month later and was pronounced dead at the Sg Buloh Hospital.

Deepak Jaikishan

Deepak Jaikishan is a carpet seller known for his close relationship with Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor. A year ago, in an interview with a foreign news channel, he accused Najib and Rosmah for the murder of Altantuya.

Deepak also said he has audio and video proof of lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Umno lawmaker Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim perverting justice in the suit of PI Bala.

Following his allegations of Najib’s involvement, police had questioned him over his statement to the media. The matter is still pending.

Musa Hassan

Musa Hassan was the inspector-general of police when the murder occurred in 2006. In a press conference in 2015, he told the media that Najib had nothing to do with the murder of the Mongolian woman.

He also told the press conference that he disagreed with the court’s decision to acquit Razak. He said the likely motive for the murder was to get rid of a blackmailer.

Najib Razak

Najib, who is facing multiple graft charges has long been implicated in the murder of Altantuya. Najib has sworn on the Quran that he had never met Altantuya.

PI Bala, however, disclosed in his first SD that Najib knew the woman and both had a sexual relationship.

It was said that Najib met Altantuya in France when he and Razak Baginda were negotiating the submarine deal. Altantuya was allegedly acting as a translator as she was fluent in French and Russian.

Najib was never brought to court for the murder despite being linked to the case. He now claims Azilah’s fresh allegations are part of a conspiracy by the Pakatan Harapan government to arrest him.

He has also applied to intervene is Azilah’s application to review the Federal Court decision, saying that he has a right to defend himself. – December 17, 2019.