April 9 decision date for murder accused Azilah and Sirul

SHAH ALAM: Two police special action unit operatives accused of murdering Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu will know their fate on April 9.

High Court judge Justice Mohd Zaki Md Yasin set the date after hearing submissions by both parties at the end of the defences case yesterday.

At the outset of the proceedings yesterday, DPP Manoj Kurup submitted that the guilt of both the accused ?Chief Insp Azilah Hadri and Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar ?had been proven beyond all reasonable doubt.

He said the defence begs questions but answers none?

Credible and reliable evidence adduced from all the prosecution witnesses of which was sufficiently corroborated by expert evidence remained intact, unrebutted and unexplained by the defence,?he submitted.

He said C/Insp Azilah did not dare to call his so-called alibi witnesses while Kpl Sirul did not dare to testify under oath. Elaborating further on C/Insp Azilahs defence, he said the police officer had lost the chance of casting a reasonable doubt in the prosecutions case when he failed to call his alibi witnesses.

Manoj argued that C/Insp Azilah had displayed selective memory?in his evidence, which was nothing more than an attempt to show there was no pre-arranged plan between him and Kpl Sirul to execute Altantuya, when in fact there was such a plan.

Despite the friendship, he could not remember the mobile (telephone number) friend of his close friend (Kpl Sirul),?he said.

However, C/Insp Azilah had no trouble remembering the phone numbers of political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, DSP Musa Mohd Safri (a ministers aide-de-camp) and others, the DPP added.

Manoj said C/Insp Azilah got trapped in his own sticky web of lies?when he admitted that Razaks problems were solved the night of Oct 19, 2006.

DPP Manoj said there was not an iota of evidence?suggesting a frame-up and there was absolutely no reason shown why the police would want to do something so despicable to one of their own kind?

He said the trial was not a mistrial and there was no abuse of court process or miscarriage of justice.

On the defence decision not to call DSP Musa as a witness, he said the senior police officer was not shown to be essential for both the accuseds case.