Azilah brought police to crime scene, led to discovery of Altantuya’s bones, court told BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Court - New 2 Sarawak |
| Azilah brought police to crime scene, led to discovery of Altantuya’s bones, court told Posted: 23 Jun 2014 12:43 PM PDT PUTRAJAYA: Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri who was acquitted on a charge of murdering Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu was the one who brought the police to the crime scene at a jungle in Puncak Alam, the Federal Court heard yesterday. Deputy Solicitor-General II Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah said Azilah also led to the discovery of the deceased's bones before Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar arrived at the crime scene with another police team. "The police only knew a general location and not specific location of the place. It is impossible for the police to locate the place, which was on the top of a hill in the jungle…the spot could not be easily located, unless they had information," he submitted at the hearing of the prosecution's appeal against the acquittal of the two policemen. Tun Abdul Majid also said that based on the evidence by a policeman during the trial at the High Court, the witness had said that when reaching the jungle, Azilah had told him that this was the place and showed the incident where Altantuya was shot and explosives were used on her. "At the crime scene, the police found human remains, subsequently proven to be that of the deceased," he argued before a five-member panel led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria. The other judges were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, Federal Court judges 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, freed Azilah, 37, and Sirul Azhar, 42, on the murder charge after unanimously allowing their appeals, hence, overturning their conviction and death sentence imposed by the Shah Alam High Court in 2009, which found them guilty of murdering Altantuya, 28. They were charged with murdering the woman at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am, the following day in 2006. The Court of Appeal in its judgment held that circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution was insufficient to sustain the finding of the duo's guilt and their guilt had not been satisfactorily proven, "thus, the court was constrained to give them the benefit of the doubt". The prosecution filed its petition of appeal on Jan 3, this year, listing six reasons why the three-member Court of Appeal bench was wrong in law and facts to allow the two policemen to escape the gallows. Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, who was initially charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul Azhar, was acquitted by the High Court on Oct 31, 2008 after it (the high court) held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him. Tun Abdul Majid submitted that the Court of Appeal had erred in law when rejecting the evidence under Section 27 of the Evidence Act 1950 on the discovery of jewelleries belonging to Altantuya in Sirul Azhar's jacket, by relying on the sequence of events which the court claimed showed contradictions. "Whatever the sequence of events, the fact remained that some jewelleries proved as belonging to the deceased, were found in the second respondent's (Sirul Azhar) jacket at his house in Kota Damansara," he said, adding that there was no denial from Sirul Azhar that the jacket belonged to him. He said the DNA proven to belong to Altantuya was found inside the jacket, and noted how the items were found in Sirul Azhar's possession. Tun Abdul Majid also argued that there was no evidence that Sirul Azhar was framed as the prosecution had called all relevant witnesses during the trial. On the issue of a pair of slippers found in Sirul Azhar's car, he said the slippers did not belong to him and they were also not his size. "There is no evidence to show how the slippers were in the car, but there was blood found on them…had dried up. So, how the blood was found on the slippers? It must be from the scene," said Tun Abdul Majid. On another point, he said that according to the telco database, Azilah was at the crime scene in Puncak Alam, at the material time of the incident. He noted that Azilah could never have been at Wangsa Maju or Taman Melati, or Batu Caves, not even in Jalan Duta before proceeding to Bukit Aman at the material time as he had alleged in his alibi. Furthermore, he submitted that Azilah had also failed to adduce any witness for his alibi when called for defence at the end of the prosecution's case. Asked by Arifin how the telco database led to a finding that at the time, Azilah was at the crime scene, Tun Abdul Majid replied, a particular telephone broadcasting station could detect where a person making a call was located. "The call logs of the police officers (respondents) have been verified by the telco operators who had printed out the data and signed it, saying it is verified," he said. He also stressed that there was no tampering of handphone data on the respondent (Azilah). At the outset, when reading briefly the background facts of the case, Tun Abdul Majid said according to a witness during the trial, Altantuya was brought to (the federal police headquarters in) Bukit Aman, and the deceased was last seen entering a car driven by Sirul Azhar. He said on Oct 20, 2006, the woman was reported missing and investigations led to the arrest of both policemen (Azilah and Sirul Azhar), together with Razak Baginda. On Nov 6, in the same year, fragments of human bone, hair and tissues were discovered in the forest area in Puncak Alam and the DNA analysis proved the remains to be that of the deceased. He said according to the forensic pathologist, the cause of death was "probable blast-related injuries". The hearing continues today. — Bernama   |
| Church denied leave to appeal against ban on use of ‘Allah’ in Herald Posted: 23 Jun 2014 11:58 AM PDT PUTRAJAYA: The Catholic Church's legal fight over the right to use the word 'Allah' to refer to God in its weekly Herald ended yesterday after the Federal Court here denied its application for leave to appeal. Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria chairing a seven-member panel delivered a 4-3 majority decision against the church. In his judgment, he said the 28 questions on administrative law, constitutional law and general questions framed by the church failed to meet the threshold requirements under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 to be given leave to appeal. He said the Court of Appeal had correctly applied the objective test with regard to the minister's discretion to ban the use of the word 'Allah' in the Herald. Hence, he said it was not open for the Federal Court to interfere with the findings of the Court of Appeal. Justice Arifin held that the High Court judge ought not to have entertained the church's challenge on the validity or constitutionality of various state enactments which seek to control and restrict the propagation of non-Islamic religious doctrines and belief amongst Muslims. He also said the constitutional questions posed by the church concerning their rights guaranteed under Article 3, 8, 10, 11 and 12 of the Federal Constitution could not be considered in isolation without taking into consideration the state enactments. On the theological issues, Justice Arifin said it was clear that the Home Minister's decision to ban Herald from using the word 'Allah' was never premised on theological consideration. Therefore, the views expressed by the judges of the Court of Appeal on the theological issues were mere obiter. The church was seeking leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling which had upheld the Home Ministry's decision to ban Herald from using the word 'Allah' in its Bahasa Malaysia section. It is not automatic for civil appeals to be heard at the highest court in the country. Under the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, an applicant in civil cases must first obtain leave from the Federal Court in order to bring their appeal to the Federal Court which is the Apex Court. Justice Arifin's judgment was read and agreed by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Federal Court Judge Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar. Following this decision, the Oct 14, 2013 Court of Appeal decision prohibiting the Herald from using the word stands as correct in fact and law and the church cannot file any appeals anymore. However, Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995 allows the church to seek a review at the Federal Court against today's decision. Although the Federal Court has the jurisdiction to review its own decision to prevent injustice and abuse of court process, generally it will only be exercised in very exceptional circumstances. Meanwhile, the dissenting opinions came from Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judges Datuk Zainun Ali and Tan Sri Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha. Justice Malanjum in his judgment, said the church had satisfied the requirements under Section 96(a) and (b) of the Courts of Judicature Act to be granted leave to appeal. "It deserves to be re emphasised that in addition to those requirements, one factor must also be given serious consideration, namely, the degree of public importance of those legal issues raised by the applicant (the church) and on the necessity of them to be finally resolved by the Federal Court. He said there was a serious issue with regard to the Home Minister's exercise of his discretion to ban the word 'Allah' in the Herald since there was an undisputed fact that the Herald had been in circulation for 14 years before the imposition of the ban. Justice Malanjum also said that there was no evidence shown of prejudice to public order during that period and that the use of the word 'Allah' was also not prohibited in other publications such as the Al Kitab and the Sikh Holy Book. "The case only involved the Bahasa Malaysia section of the Herald. Yet the decision of the Court of Appeal seems to sanction a sweeping, general prohibition against the use of the word 'Allah' by all non-Muslims in all forms on all occasions. Most of the groups affected such as the Sikh community were not parties in this case," said Justice Malanjum. Justice Zainun said the High Court judge and the Court of Appeal judges should have confined themselves strictly to the legal issues raised, since the issue concerning the truth or otherwise of the disputed tenets of religious beliefs and faiths, the correctness or otherwise of religious practices and inward beliefs and allegiances were all beyond the competence of judges of fact and law. "More so when the alleged historical or other facts were based on affidavit evidence and the internet which were unverified, uncorroborated and therefore inadmissible. "All parties must exercise restraint and uphold the tenets of their respective religious beliefs and exercise tolerance and peace and stay calm and exist in harmony with each other in our beloved country," said Justice Zainun. She said it was imperative that the precious goodwill that all races and religious denominations possess be brought to the negotiating table and the matter resolved amicably. Meanwhile Justice Tan, in his judgment, said the task of the Federal Court with regard to the church's application for leave to appeal was only to find if the prerequisites of sub-section (a) and (b) of Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act had been met. "At the stage of application for leave, there should not be a rush to judgment of the issues and its merits, which, in the instant case, have yet to be canvassed and argued," he said. He said there were clearly decisions by the lower courts on the effect of the provisions of the Federal Constitution and the sole prerequisite of Section 9(b) had been satisfied. "The constitutional questions should be answered by the Federal Court. They are too grave to be answered by any other," he said adding that leave to appeal should be granted to the church. On Dec 31, 2009, the High Court declared that the decision by the Home Ministry in banning the Herald from using the word Allah was illegal, null and void. The Court of Appeal had set aside the High Court's decision. The Roman Catholic church led by Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam filed a judicial review application in 2009 naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents, seeking, among others, a declaration that the ministry's decision to prohibit the use of the word Allah in the Herald publication was illegal. Meanwhile, one of the counsel representing the church, Benjamin Dawson said the church would consider whether to seek for a review of yesterday's decision. — Bernama |
| You are subscribed to email updates from BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Court To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |