Altantuya Family Wins RM5 Million Lawsuit Against Malaysian Government And Three Other Defendants
A court has found the Malaysian government liable for the death of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006.
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The High Court in Shah Alam has allowed the suit filed by the family of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu regarding the woman’s death in 2006.
The suit was filed against four defendants, including the Malaysian government.
Judge Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, now a Judge of the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya, decided this when the proceedings were conducted through the Zoom application.
When reading his judgment, he said the decision was made after finding that the Mongolian model’s family, as the first of third plaintiffs, successfully proved their case against the second and third defendants.
They have carried out their duties as police officers, have used the resources provided by the Royal Malaysian Police and the judgment was made on the liability of the four defendants.
Judge Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera on the reasons for his judgement.
Touching on the damages of RM100 million requested by the plaintiffs, he said that the amount was excessive and could not be defined based on principles alone.
According to him, RM5 million is fair and sufficient to be awarded as general, severe and exemplary damages.
The judge also ordered the defendant to pay costs of RM25,000 to be paid to each plaintiff.
Seeking Justice
Altantuya’s father, Dr Shaariibuu Setev, her mother, Altantsetseg Sanjaa and Altantuya’s two sons, Mungunshagai Bayarjargal and Altanshagai Munkhtulga filed a lawsuit on 4 June 2007.
They claimed that the model’s death caused them mental and psychological trauma, entitling them to compensation and exemplary and severe damages.
They named two former members of the Special Action Unit (UTK), Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and the government, respectively, the first to fourth defendants.
Death penalty of Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar should be commuted to life imprisonment in exchange for their confession as to who directed them to kill Mongolian Shaariibuu Altantunyaa https://t.co/iuDY9673pN pic.twitter.com/PhD734wgpQ
— Lim Kit Siang (@limkitsiang) August 30, 2022
However, Altanshagai Munkhtulga’s name was later removed from the list of plaintiffs when he died in 2017.
A total of 26 plaintiff witnesses, including Altantuya’s father and eldest son, testified in the trial, which began in 2019.
The defendant, the government, presented three witnesses, and Abdul Razak chose not to testify in response to the suit’s demands.
Meanwhile, netizens are unhappy that taxpayers’ money will be used to foot the bill.
They said the three defendants should pay but not the government itself.
Some claimed that Razak had left the country while the two policemen could never come up with such a vast amount of money.
As such, they presume the Malaysian government will have to fork out all RM5 million.
Dia sama siapa ye 5 juta tu? Razak baginda dh pindah luar negara. Azilah dan sirul tak mungkin ada duit. Adakah kerajaan malaysia terpaksa tanggung? Atau.. majikan semasa tu akan byr? pic.twitter.com/UUPAyt7HNh
— CIKY🔺NIE (@lady_bugg11) December 16, 2022
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