PUTRAJAYA — The death sentence imposed on former chief inspector Azilah Hadri for the 2006 murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu has been commuted to a jail term of 40 years by the Federal Court.
A three-judge panel, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, unanimously accepted the applicant’s appeal for his death sentence to be commuted.
After deliberating on Azilah’s bid for about half an hour, the bench also ordered for him to receive 12 strokes of the cane.
The 40-years jail term will be deemed to have begun from the date of Azilah’s arrest on November 1, 2006 and excludes the period when he was released pending appeals on his conviction.
In delivering its verdict, the bench, which also comprise Court of Appeal President Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court Judge Datuk Nordin Hassan, said that a supporting letter from Altantuya’s father Shaariibuu Setev backing Azilah’s bid for life imprisonment was taken by the panel as a strong mitigating factor.
The prosecution, represented by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, did not object to the letter.
‘Only following orders’
In mitigating arguments, Azilah’s lawyer J. Kuldeep Kumar submitted that at the time of Altantuya’s murder, Azilah had acted as a police officer who had received instructions from his superiors.
“The applicant (Azilah) had no nexus to the deceased (Altantuya) and no motive to kill her as he was a complete stranger to her,” Kuldeep told the court.
“Beginning at the training centres (where police are trained), they are indoctrinated to not go against instructions. Once instructions are given, they have to do it – that’s how they are. (Azilah) had no other choice once the instructions were given for the covert mission.”
Kuldeep referenced the statutory declaration Azilah had issued in 2019 as part of his application to review the Federal Court’s 2015 decision to uphold his guilty verdict, noting that details in the sworn document show he was initially hesitant to carry out the orders, but was eventually convinced.
In his statutory declaration, the ex-commando alleged that he had received a “shoot to kill” order against Altantuya from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was deputy prime minister at that time, as the model and interpreter was allegedly a foreign spy who threatened national security.
The affidavit was also not challenged by the prosecution, with Tengku Maimun highlighting the lack of objection when delivering the bench’s verdict.
Stressing that Azilah had no intention to murder Altantuya “except for the fact of the instruction”, Kuldeep also said that Azilah had on numerous occasions conveyed regret over her death.
In response, DPP Dusuki, said there were other factors that override the issue of Azilah merely following orders.
Dusuki said even if Azilah believed Altantuya was a foreign spy, he should have followed investigation processes instead of “executing” her. Altantuya was shot before her remains were blown up with military-grade explosives.
‘Should Azilah be the only one to hang?’
Kuldeep also questioned of proportionality in sentencing, noting that while the death sentenced had been passed on Azilah, Najib’s close associate, Abdul Razak Baginda, had been acquitting of abetting Azilah and then fellow commando Sirul Azhar Umar in Altantuya’s murder.
Razak, a former political analyst, was charged with the two ex-cops over the murder but was acquitted in 2008 by the high court on grounds there was no prima facie case against him.
Kuldeep also said that Sirul, then Azilah’s fellow Special Action Unit colleague, remains a “free man” in Australia after he “took advantage” of the system to escape the death penalty.
“If the death sentence is given to Azilah alone, then he will be the only man put to death (as) we will never be able to bring Sirul back to face justice,” the lawyer said.
Azilah filed his death sentence review bid after Parliament passed the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 in July last year, giving judges discretion to impose life imprisonment between 30 to 40 years instead of a mandatory death sentence for crimes such as murder and drug trafficking.
Under the law, male convicts shall also be punished with whipping of not less than 12 strokes if they are below 50 years of age.
In 2009, three years after Azilah and Sirul were charged in the Shah Alam High Court, both were convicted of murdering Altantuya.
In 2013, the duo succeeded in overturning their conviction at the appellate court after a three-member panel, which included Tengku Maimun, found the conviction to be “unsafe”.
The Federal Court in 2015 led by the then-chief justice Tun Arifin Zakaria restored their conviction and reinstated their death sentence.
Prior to the 2015 ruling, Sirul fled to Australia, where he remains due to the country’s anti-death penalty laws preventing it from extraditing individuals who could face the death sentence in their home country. – October 10, 2024
