Najib’s aide Musa Safri should have testified in Altantuya trial, says Sirul
Former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar, who together with another policeman was convicted for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, said his superior, then deputy superintendent Musa Safri, should have given evidence in the trial.
Musa was also the aide de camp of Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak when he was the deputy prime minister.
"He should have been put on the witness stand by the prosecution," Malaysiakini quoted him as saying in an exclusive report today.
The Court of Appeal in 2013 acquitted Sirul and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, saying there was serious misdirection by trial judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Yasin including by not calling Musa.
The three-man appellate court said the failure to put Musa on the witness stand was important to the prosecution to unfold the narrative of its case.
Malaysiakini quoted Sirul as saying that the Federal Court had overlooked this issue when overturning their acquittal last month.
Deputy solicitor-general I, Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, who led the prosecution team, had argued in all three courts that Musa was not a key witness in the trial.
However, Sirul's legal team led by Datuk Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin and Hasnal Rezua Merican, submitted that the prosecution's refusal to put Musa in the witness stand amounted to a mistrial.
Sirul (pic, right) who spoke to Malaysiakini in a telephone interview from Australia, said he took orders from his superiors in executing the murder to safeguard the interest of the nation.
"If I die today, I would not find peace as I did what I was told and this is what I get in return," he was quoted as saying.
Sirul said he was also dissatisfied with the country's legal system.
"The court also ignored the questionable DNA evidence on the bloodstain found on a shoe placed in my car as well as my own DNA sample.
"The court ignored this despite the strong submissions made by my lawyers," he added.
Sirul was not present when the Federal Court delivered its verdict on January 13, and subsequent news report revealed that he had left for Australia last October.
Sirul was arrested in Queensland on January 20 following a red alert issued by Interpol.
The 43-year-old father of two is currently being held at the Immigration and Border Protection Department's facility in Sydney.
It is highly unlikely Sirul will be extradited as he faces the death penalty in Malaysia.
Despite the conviction, the motive for the murder was never revealed.
Lawyers and politicians have raised the issue of motive, which was not revealed in court, but Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said there was nothing more to say on the case as the court had made its decision.
Evidence in court revealed that Altantuya was murdered before her body was blown up by C4 explosives on October 18, 2006, in the outskirts of Shah Alam, near the capital city Kuala Lumpur. – February 18, 2015.
