PETN and RDX explosives used in Altantuya’s Murder, not C4

PUTRAJAYA - A Federal Court here today heard that the explosives used to murder Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu were not of 'C4'.

Deputy Solicitor-General II of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, who led the prosecution team, submitted as such on the second day appeal hearing against the acquittal of two police special action unit personnel, on murdering Altantuya.

Abdul Majid told the court that the prosecution had never said the substances found at the crime scene were C4 explosives.

"The UTK (special action unit) never used C4.” We told from the beginning (of the case), it was never C4."

He further said "it must have started with the newspapers", implying further repetitions of the said explosive widely reported in the media had shadowed the real explosives used to murder Altantuya.

C4 is a combination of explosive chemicals with a plastic binder material.

Speaking to reporters later, Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup, who assisted Abdul Majid, said the substances found at the crime scene were of PETN and RDX explosives.

The accused, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, from the special action unit, were present in court.

Lawyers J. Kuldeep Kumar and Datuk Hazman Ahmad represented Azilah while Sirul's lawyers were Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin and Hasnal Rezua Merican.

The judges comprise a five -member panel led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria and assisted by Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong, Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar and Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop.

The Court of Appeal had on Aug 23 last year, acquitted Azilah, 38, and Sirul, 43, of murdering Altantuya.

In acquitting the two, the court held that there were misdirection by the Shah Alam High Court judge who heard the case.

It said their guilt had not been satisfactorily proven, "thus, the court was constrained to give them the benefit of the doubt".

The prosecution had filed a notice of appeal against the Court of Appeal decision on January this year.

Azilah and Sirul, both members of the Special Action Unit, were found guilty in 2009 by the High Court of murdering the woman at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006 and 1am, on Oct 20, 2006.

Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, who was initially charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul, was acquitted by the High Court on Oct 31, 2008 after the court held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

The prosecution did not appeal against this decision.

Hearing continues in the afternoon.

NST