PRESENT POINT POWER

Day 13 Video Clip Trial loaded

ABOVE & BELOW: Handling C4 explosives which are very flexible and can be moulded to any shape and placed anywhere

GoTo: Day 14 Trial, H E R E
= = == == = == = == = = =

Day 13 Trial, Jul 05 2007, 6.51am

DAY 13
July 04, 2007 21:21 PM
Some UTK Members May Bring Home Unused Explosives, Court Told

SHAH ALAM, July 4 (Bernama) -- A senior police officer told the High Court here Wednesday that it was possible for explosives not used during training are not returned by special action squad (UTK) personnel to the ordnance store.

The 11th witness in the trial for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, Bukit Aman UTK deputy commander DSP Mastor Mohd Ariff (ABOVE), said yes when Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah asked him whether the quantity of explosives taken out of the store was recorded. He also said in the affirmative when asked whether it was possible for the balance not used was not returned to the store. When asked: "Is it based on trust that materials not used need to be returned?", Mastor replied: "Yes." He said no records were made on the quantity of explosives used in training and there was also no clear procedure to inspect houses of UTK members for bullets, explosives and firearms.

ABOVE: Sirul (left) and Azilah both have explosive usage training

So, he said, he had no knowledge of any officer or personnel of other ranks who kept such items at home. Generally, he said, there was a procedure requiring all personnel to return explosives not used during training to the ordnance store. Earlier, Mastor who has served with the UTK for 19 years, was asked whether he knew Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and was asked to identify the two accused in court. He said he knew Azilah as UTK Combat Diving Unit Operations Inspector while Sirul as Communications Unit Corporal in the same unit. He also said each subordinate member in the unit was required to carry out their official duties by following all orders of their superiors without question."In other words, UTK members are like robots," asked Tun Abdul Majid.( BELOW)

"For subordinate members, yes. Like robots. Only receiving orders from superior members," Mastor said. He said that when carrying out his official duty, Azilah, though he was not Sirul's immediate officer, could give orders to Sirul and his instructions need to be followed without being questioned by subordinate personnel. He said that as UTK officer and personnel, the two accused were involved in assignments to escort VVIPs, namely the prime minister and deputy prime minister, and they were allowed to carry firearms when doing the job.

Azilah and Sirul had also undergone the basic training with explosives, he said and added each UTK member had to undergo such training. In the training, Mastor said, they were taught to identify the shapes and uses of explosive materials as well as the way of preparing an explosive charge. Besides that, he said, Azilah had undergone a combat diving specialised training and body-guarding -- a technique to guard VVIP whether on foot or in vehicle. He also said each UTK officer was allowed to carry firearm round-the-clock including when he was not on duty and they were not required to return the weapon to the store, except when they went on leave, throughout their service with the unit. "This is because for the officers, when they receive a call for an operation, they have to go straight to the location from their houses or quarters," he said.

He said a different rule applied to UTK subordinate members as they were allowed to carry and keep firearms only while on duty. Tun Abdul Majid: "Can you explain the procedure to take firearm out of armoury?" Mastor: "Each operative is required to fill an application form and is given the approval for six months for each application. It means, in each January they need to fill the form and the approval is valid until June. "Then, they only need to register out and register in the weapon at the store. If the assignment is more than a week, they need to sign a new entry on Friday each week." Tun Abdul Majid: "What about to take out firearm for training?" Mastor: "For officers, the weapon is considered belongs to them. For subordinate members, weapons come from the pool and kept in the armoury." Tun Abdul Majid: "Officers' weapons are with them?"

Mastor: "Only pistols. An Mp5 needs to be taken from the store. The same procedure is used for bullets."= = == =

More suspense with Sirul's confession tomorrow (Day 14 Trial)

SHAH ALAM (July 4, 2007): Expect more suspense in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial tomorrow when the prosecution submits a confession made by Cpl Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, the second accused.The confession was made before the deputy commander of the Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) or Special Action Squad in the Bukit Aman police headquarters on Nov 5, 2006.

"I'm introducing a confession which will ensure a trial within a trial. Perhaps we can continue tomorrow," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, who is heading the prosecution, today before the afternoon's proceedings ended.

The confession was made by Sirul to DSP Mastor Mohd Ariff on a flight from Pakistan to bring him (Sirul) back to Malaysia, reports Bernama.
Mastor, 45, the 11th prosecution witness, today testified that he was instructed to withdraw Sirul from his security duty in Pakistan at the time.
Mastor, who has served the police force for 25 years including 19 years with the UTK, said Sirul could not believe it when told that his duty of accompanying the Prime Minister in Pakistan was withdrawn and ordered to return to Malaysia immediately.

Mastor said Sirul kept pestering him to divulge the real reason for him to be asked to return to Malaysia as he was not safistied when told that he had to solve a problem over a police report lodged by his (Sirul's) ex-wife against him.
The witness said that on last Nov 4, he and another two UTK members left for Islamabad, Pakistan, after being instructed by the CID deputy director II to bring Sirul back.
He said he met up with Sirul in a hotel room there about five hours before their flight home. Originally, Sirul should return on Nov 9.

Mastor said Sirul agreed to return and they had to transit in Lahore and Bangkok enroute to Malaysia. Tun Majid: Before arriving in Bangkok, did the second accused (Sirul) ask you anything?
Mastor: Yes. In Lahore, he asked again the reason as he didn't believe that he was brought back due to his ex-wife's police report.
Tun Majid: What did you tell him?stor: I said I would tell him the real story after we left Bangkok by MAS (Malaysia Airlines) flight to KL.
Mastor said while they were on transit in Bangkok, Sirul asked him again and he replied "`when we get on the plane, I'll tell you".

"I've nothing to do with you ..."

SHAH ALAM (July 4, 2007): "I've got nothing to do with you. If you want to do anything, go ahead," Abdul Razak told Mongolian Russian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu in his office last August. These words were heard by the political analyst's secretary, Siti Aisyah Mohd Azlan, 24, when Altantuya met Abdul Razak at the front door of his office, the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre.

Siti Aisyah (ABOVE & BELOW) who referred to Altantuya as Amina in her testimony in court, said it was a chance meeting as there was no prior appointment made.

= = == = == = == = ==

Questioned by counsel Wong Kian Kheong (ABOVE)during cross-examination whether Abdul Razakhad hit or threatened Altantuya,
Siti Aisyah said "No".
Siti Aisyah, the 9th prosecution witness, said Abdul Razak did tell her about Altantuya's visit and that she had extorted money from him, adding that because of this, he told her not to let Altantuya into the office.

She said she also knew about the hiring of private investigator P.Balasubramaniam for the same purpose (to prevent Altantuya from seeing Abdul Razak).
Wong: You said Amina (Altantuya) came to the office three times. Did Amina also make phone calls to the office?
Siti Aisyah: Yes. She made several calls.
Wong: Did Amina tell you where she came from?
Siti Aisyah: She said she was calling from Korea. I did not ask her where she came from.
She said when Altantuya called or came to the office, she was never told that Abdul Razak threatened her, adding that she was also not told about the police report made by Altantuya against him.

Abdul Razak did casually tell her about the visit by an officer from the Special Action Squad (UTK) on Oct 18, she added.
Wong: Do you agree that that day was Chief Insp Azilah Hadri's first visit to the office?
Siti Aisyah: Yes, and his only visit.
Wong: Agree that after the meeting with Azilah, that Abdul Razak worked as usual?
Siti Aisyah: Agree.
Wong: Did Abdul Razak ask you to keep the meeting as confidential?
Siti Aisyah: No.
Siti Aisyah said as Abdul Razak's secretary, she knew that he frequently travelled overseas on official duty, including his trip to Hongkong on Oct 24 (first day of Hari Raya Puasa) and that his daughter Roweena and wife Mazlinda Makhzan would fly to England the next day.

Asked about Abdul Razak's character while she was working with him, Siti Aisyah said: "He was a good boss, funny and not violent." She said she also did not believe that Abdul Razak had abetted in the murder of Altantuya, adding that she did not know who committed the murder.

Wong: Did Abdul Razak tell you that police had told him that Azilah killed Altantuya?
Siti Aisyah: I can't remember. I'm also not sure whether Abdul Razak told me how he knew about the murder.
She said on Nov 7, Abdul azak went to the police station to give a statement but he did not tell her for what purpose.
During a 15-minute break, reporters teased Abdul Razak about him being funny. Smiling, he responded: "Well, I made some little jokes in the office."

Cross-examined by Hazman Ahmad (ABOVE) , counsel for Azilah, Siti Aisyah said her testimony yesterday was based on what Abdul Razak had told her, that Azilah had killed Altantuya while she did not have the facts.

She admitted that the information was hearsay and did not know what transpired between Azilah and Abdul Razak when the two men met in the latter's office.

Hazman: Just now you said you did not know who murdered Amina (Altantuya). You did testify that he (Abdul Razak) said Azilah did it. Agree that at that time you had no personal knowledge of who committed the murder?

Siti Aisyah: Agree.
Hazman: You said Azilah accused Abdul Razak of ordering the murder of Altantuya. How did you know about this?

Siti Aisyah: Abdul Razak told me.
Hazman: Did you hear this being said by Azilah to Abdul Razak?

Siti Aisyah: No.
Hazman: Did you know whether it happened or not?

Siti Aisyah: I did not know.

The witness said she gave her cautioned statement to the police four times conducted by Chief Insp Shawal Osman and ASP Aidah Othman, and what she said in court was the same as her statement.

Hazman: Agree that since there were four statements recorded on the same matter, you could have given four different versions?

Siti Aisyah: I disagree.

Hazman: Agree that when there were four statements, you didn't tell thetruth?

Siti Aisyah: I disagree.

She also disagreed with Hazman's contention that there were certain facts in the cautioned statement that were suggested by the police.

Siti Aisyah said on Nov 7, DSP Lim Meng Seah came to the office to take Abdul Razak to the police station, and two to three days after that Abdul Razak returned to the office with a few police officers.

Earlier, before today's hearing began, the 13th day of the trial, the court staff made a "wise" move by fixing a microphone at the witness stand to make the proceedings audible for everyone in court.

Azilah, 30, and Cpl Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, both from the federal police Special Action Squad, are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, in a location between Lot 12843 and Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, near here, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20. Abdul Razak, 46, is charged with abetment, committed in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur between 9.54am on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19.

ABOVE: Day 13, wife Mazlinda and daughter Roweena waiting in vain for the wave from Abdul Razak as BOTH his hands were tied behind his back after complaints from other defence lawyers (see bottom story) that he was given special treatment

Security guard's quirky demeanour enlivens hearing

SHAH ALAM (July 4, 2007): The sometimes dead pan expression of a security guard and his extremely poor memory when testifying, enlivened today's hearing of the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial after 12 "tense" days. Mohamad Zaini Zainordin, 21, the chief security guard at the Lembaga Getah Asli Malaysia (LGAM) building, first took three minutes to remember his home address. Mohamad Zaini, the 10th prosecution witness, said he was on duty on the night of Oct 17 and completed his 12-hour shift the next day. When asked to read out one of the names recorded in the LGAM Visitors' Book, he said, "There's a name, Azilah binti (daughter of) Hadri, drawing laughter from the gallery including Azilah himself, the first accused. The witness was asked to look again at what was written in the visitors' book by Deputy Public Prosecutor Raya Hanim Rashid before giving his reply. In the book, the court was told, was an entry on the visit by Chief Insp Azilah Hadri, 31, from 9.54am to 11.05am, reports Bernama

However, Mohamad Zaini said he did not know who wrote it down.

Hanim: Who is responsible for the visitors' book? Is it not you as the head?

Zaini: (It's the responsibility of) anyone on duty at the security counter.

When asked to identify DSP Lim Meng Seah who had taken the book from him, Mohamad Zaini made a startled, comical expression.

Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin seemed baffled over the witness holding such a responsibility of overseeing 10 other guards.

"Last year, you were aged 20 and already a chief security guard!" quipped the judge, drawing laughter from the gallery.

Altantuya murder trial: Azilah upset over photographers’ action

SHAH ALAM, Wed:, Bernama, Via NST

The first accused in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri is upset that some media photographers yesterday had tried to pull away his jacket which he used to cover his face when he came to court. His feeling was conveyed by his counsel Hazman Ahmad in the High Court here today which is hearing the high-profile murder trial. Hazman said that yesterday, a group of photographers had encroached the police boundary and acted aggressively as Azilah, 30; Lance Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35; and political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 46; the other accused, were taken from the court to the lock-up. He said Azilah was also unhappy with the special treatment given to Abdul Razak’s wife, Mazlinda Makhzan who was allowed to accompany her husband to the lock-up, resulting in him and Sirul Azhar to be handcuffed separately at the back, as instructed by Bukit Aman. Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin then asked whether the relatives of the first and second accused were given the same privilege.

Hazman: No. Azilah and Sirul Azhar were handcuffed at the back after the directive was given. Yesterday, there was a commotion on the way to the lock-up. The photographers encroached the police boundary and tried to pull my client’s jacket away. He’s asking for some space and not to be harassed by the media like that.

Mohd Zaki: What do you want the court to do?

Hazman: To advise them not to go beyond the boundary.

Mohd Zaki: This happened outside the courtroom.

Hazman: I have to inform the court. My client is under the court’s supervision.

Wong Kian Kheong, counsel for Abdul Razak, then said that his client was also handcuffed at the back like the other two accused.

Hazman said he did want the incident to happen again as it could disrupt the court proceedings, adding that yesterday it took him 15 minutes to persuade Azilah to return to the lock-up.

Wong said he was only informed about the purported special treatment for Abdul Razak’s wife this morning.

“It is not wrong for a wife to accompany her husband to the lock-up, but if instructed not to do so, we will abide. It’s not an issue,” he said.

Hazman: The issue here is that my client had his face covered but it is not against the lock-up rules. A serious thing happened yesterday when a photographer tried to remove the jacket from him.
To diffuse the situation, Mohd Zaki said the incident happened outside the courtroom over which he had no power to make a decision, but would ask the relevant parties to solve the problem. Meanwhile, outside the court, the photographers said the incident was not their doing and as there were so many of them, anything could happen during the commotion yesterday