If you’re that obsessed with someone, why would you kill her? Humans are full of contradictions.
– Ai Yazawa, Japanese manga author
This is probably true. Never in the history of heinous crimes in Malaysia has there been a more high-profile one as the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian national, on October 18, 2006.
It has been more than 16 years since the gruesome homicide which took place in the jungle fringes of Shah Alam, Selangor. Those responsible for the murder would have wanted it to fade away surely but it just wouldn’t.
It is difficult because people will not easily forget such a controversial case of corruption, adultery and murder allegedly involving a former prime minister, his wife and a long-time confidante. Their names were mentioned in many news reports over the years.
Technically, the murder case has been “solved” with the admission of guilt from the two policemen, former Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and then-Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar. The court had also adjudged them guilty and meted out the appropriate sentence.
Sirul, who is now held in Sydney, cannot be extradited to Malaysia as Australian laws dictate that no capital punishment must be carried out by the country, where an individual is being extradited to.
Although Sirul had been sentenced to death for his crime, many of us are probably quietly happy for him that he is spared the gallows for now. I think Sirul could be the only person who might solve the whole mystery of the Altantuya murder one fine day. (Seriously, I’m keeping my fingers crossed on this.)
That Sirul had also made some serious allegations against those whom he believed were behind the murder is the ultimate of what is necessary to close the case for good. He has pointed to the ‘motive’ for the murder of Altantuya and that is what we all want to know.
This is what the family of the slain victim would have wanted to know desperately too. It is impossible for Altantuya’s family to find closure when they do not even know the motive as to why she had to be killed.
All murders have a motive, save for those committed by perpetrators with unsound mind. Each episode of the fictional TV series “Murder She Wrote” even has a motive for every murder.
Isn’t it true that whenever we watch a crime thriller involving a murder, we would only be happy and contented at the end of the movie if the murder has been solved? Either the murderer is identified and brought to justice or that a motive for the crime has been established. Failing which, the story will be left hanging and that is disappointing!
If I were Altantuya’s father (and Dr Shaariibuu Setev has been searching for the truth for the past 16 years), I would also be fighting unrelentingly for justice and to see that my slain daughter gets it. Until that is achieved, I doubt there will ever be closure for the family.
Most of us were happy and supported Shaariibuu Setev’s quest to have the case reopened, three years after the Federal Court found both policemen guilty of murder and sentenced them to death. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Rightly, Ramkarpal Singh, Shaariibuu’s lawyer and now a deputy minister, had also stated then that the motive of the murder needed to be investigated and who ordered the killing must be probed.
I think Altantuya’s ghost will continue to haunt us again and again as it did so on Dec 16.
Last Friday, the Shah Alam High Court has ordered the government and three other individuals to pay Altantuya’s family RM5 million, 15 years after a negligence lawsuit was filed. The verdict was made by Justice Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera during an online proceeding.
This comes after the court found that Altantuya’s family had successfully proved their claim on the balance of probabilities against the defendants, who are political analyst Razak Baginda, former policemen Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri, as well as the government.
RM5 million is a paltry sum out of a RM100 million suit. Taking into account what the family has gone through plus the costs involved in their frequent travels to Malaysia and the legal fees over the past years, RM5 million doesn’t seem to be fair compensation even.
Talking about money, it was for a meagre $500,000 payment demanded by Altantuya from her former lover, Razak Baginda, that probably took her life.
Many have been asking this valid question: Why kill her when all she wanted was only $500,000? Baginda had earned millions in commission for the submarine deal; what is RM500,000?
Again, the question of motive, the real one, arises. It’s worth repeating; unless the truth is known, it will be difficult for Altantuya’s family to find closure.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
