AZILAH AND SIRUL SENTENCED TO DEATH

SHAH ALAM (Malaysia), April 9 (Bernama) -- The Shah Alam High Court Thursday
sentenced Chief Insp Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar to death for
murdering Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibu.

Justice Mohd Zaki Md Yasin, in finding the two guilty, said the prosecution
had proven the case against them beyond reasonable doubt.

He said their defences were essentially ones of denial and of blaming each
other and as such, were irreconcilable and unbelievable.

"Thus they have failed to raise any reasonable doubt in the prosecution's
case which I find to be irresistibly conclusive on account of the physical and
circumstantial evidence adduced before me.

"I therefore now sentence you, Azilah and Sirul Azhar, to death and both of
you will henceforth be kept in lawful custody until you are brought to a lawful
place where you will be hung by the neck until you are dead," he said.

Azilah, 33, and Sirul Azhar, 37, were found guilty of murdering Altantuya
Shaariibuu, 28, between Lot 12843 and Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, near here
between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006, and 1am the following day.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 48, was charged with abeting
them but was acquitted and discharged on Oct 31 last year without his defence
being called after the prosecution failed to make out a prima facie case against
him.

In his judgment, Mohd Zaki said Azilah's defence by way of his sole evidence
on oath was essentially that he did not utter the statements relating to the
scene, which were admitted as evidence of discovery of facts, and that he was
not at the scene of the crime at the relevant dates and times.

"He claimed that he was somewhere in Wangsa Maju as per his notice of alibi
and that he was not the last person to be with Altantuya for he had handed over
Altantuya on the night in question to the second accused (Sirul Azhar) to send
the deceased back to Hotel Malaya.

He said Sirul Azhar's defence by way of his statement from the dock was that
he was the "scapegoat".

Sirul Azhar also claimed that he did not utter all the statements relating
to Altantuya's personal belongings, that he was not at the scene of crime, that
Altaantuya had never been handed over to him by Azilah to be sent back to Hotel
Malaya, the judge said.

The prosecution team comprised deputy public prosecutors Tun Abdul Majid
Tun Hamzah, Noorin Badaruddin, Manoj Kurup and Hanim Rashid while Azilah was
represented by counsel Hazman Ahmad and J. Kuldeep Kumar and Sirul Azhar
by counsel Hasnal Redzua Marican, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal and Kamarul Hisham
Kamaruddin.

Meanwhile, Azilah's fiancee, Nur Azila Baharuddin, told reporters outside
the court that Azilah's family members in Sarawak were sad when informed of the
verdict because they had expected him to be freed.

She said she hoped that Azilah would be freed on appeal to the Court of
Appeal and Federal Court.

Asked about their plans for the future, she said: "There are no plans but we
want to get married after waiting for so long. We have known each other since
2004 and have been engaged since 2006."

Mongolian honorary consul in Malaysia Syed Abdul Rahman Al-Habshi who
also met the reporters, said he had contacted Altantuya's father, Dr Setev
Shaariibuu to inform him of the verdict.

Shaariibuu was relieved and happy with the verdict and wanted to know what
follow-up action the defence was taking, he said.

Asked why Shaariibuu was absent Thursday, he said Shaariibuu was not well
and was also confused by internati onal media reports which said that the
judgment date had been postponed.

Tun Majid said: "It is a fair decision for us. Our colleagues had been
working very hard for the past couple of years."

However, he said, the case was not over until the judgment was upheld by the
Federal Court because it could be brought on appeal to the Court of Appeal and
the Federal Court.

-- BERNAMA