SHAH ALAM, Nov 14 – The debate may continue in the court of public opinion and blogosphere but in the eyes of the law Abdul Razak Baginda is truly a free man.

The prosecution today decided against appealing his acquittal for abetting in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shariibuu.

Deputy public prosecutor Tun Majid Tun Hamzah said that as Shah Alam High Court judge Mohd Zaki Mohd Yasin made a finding of fact in acquitting Abdul Razak two weeks ago, the prosecution had decided not to appeal the ruling.

His statement today was in contrast to his fighting talk on the day the court delivered its decision. Then, he said: “We will consider appealing the decision. The battle is not over yet.”

Tun Majid said that the prosecution will not comment further on the matter as Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar have been ordered to make their defence against the charge of murdering Altantuya, in Mukim Bukit Raja between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006, and 1am the following day.

The two Special Action Unit operatives are scheduled to enter their defence on Jan 15 next year. In one of the longest hearings in Malaysia’s history, the court spent 151 days hearing testimony from 84 witnesses on whether Abdul Razak and two police officers accused of carrying out the murder should face trial.

Lawyer and DAP veteran Karpal Singh said that it was unfortunate that the prosecution was not appealing the High Court decision as he felt there was a prima facie case for Abdul Razak to answer based on his affidavit.

Ironically, it was the long-forgotten affidavit filed two years ago that was pivotal in the judge’s decision to acquit the political analysts, an advisor to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The document was filed to help Abdul Razak obtain bail before the trial started.

The lengthy document detailed how Abdul Razak met Altantuya in 2004, and had an affair that lasted until 2005. After they broke up, he alleged that the 28-year-old harassed him, and that he had sought the help of the police. He denied instructing Azilah or Sirul to kill her.

Justice Mohd Zaki said that in absence of rebuttal evidence to counter the statements in the affidavit, there was no reason for the statements to be ignored and rejected.

themalaysianinsider

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