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Malaysia sentences 2 police in Mongolian murder
 
 
 
 
 
 
 By SEAN YOONG,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, April 10
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia - A Malaysian court sentenced two policemen to death Thursday on charges of murdering a Mongolian woman who was blown up with explosives after her yearlong affair with the prime minister's friend ended in a messy disagreement.
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The verdict closes another chapter in a case that has riveted the nation, become fodder for the opposition's election campaigns, and spawned intense public speculation about political conspiracies and sex scandals in high places.
The woman's former lover, Abdul Razak Baginda, a close aide and friend of Prime Minister Najib Razak, was acquitted last year on charges of abetting her murder.
Wrapping up the 159-day trial, High Court Judge Zaki Yasin ruled that he found the defense of Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Cpl. Sirul Azhar Umar "unbelievable" as "each of them is blaming the other."
He said he was convicting "both of you as charged" with murdering 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu sometime between Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, 2006.
"They failed to raise any reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case," Zaki said. "I sentence both of you to death" by hanging, he said.
The defendants showed no emotion as the verdict was being read. Defense lawyers said they would appeal.
The prosecution contended that Shaariibuu's murder was ordered by Abdul Razak, a well-known defense analyst and a popular figure among the country's elite, after their affair ended.
Zaki acquitted Abdul Razak in October of charges of abetting the murder. But the trial failed to explain what motive the policemen had for killing the woman. Abdul Razak, 48, moved to Britain after his acquittal.
"The international community cannot accept that only these two men were responsible. It goes beyond that," said Karpal Singh, a lawyer for Shaariibuu's family. "This is not the end of the road."
Abdul Razak, a married man with a grown-up daughter, admitted in his defense to having an affair with Shaariibuu beginning in late 2004.
He portrayed Shaariibuu as a manipulative gold digger, saying he gave her $10,000 after hearing "sob stories" about her financial situation that he later found to be untrue. He said he ended the affair in 2005.
According to Abdul Razak, Shaariibuu kept pestering him for money and threatened to go public with their affair, prompting him to seek help from a private investigator and later from the two policemen, who work for an elite unit assigned to VIP security.
The two policemen admitted they picked up Shaariibuu from outside Abdul Razak's house on the evening of Oct. 19, 2006. The prosecution alleged they then took her to a jungle clearing, shot her to death, and blew up her body with military explosives.
Azilah, 33, admitted to taking Shaariibuu away from Abdul Razak's house on the orders of a superior officer, but said he handed her over to Sirul and never saw her again.
Sirul, 37, refused to testify under oath but read a statement insisting he was innocent and was "just a scapegoat who has to be sacrificed to cover up the ill intentions of those who were not in court."
However, he did not directly rebut Azilah's claim that he was the last one to be seen with Shaariibuu.
___
Associated Press writer Vijay Joshi contributed to this report.
 
 
 
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