Altantuya: Razak's PI makes shocking statutory declaration (Update)

By SHAHANAAZ HABIB

KUALA LUMPUR: P. Balasubramaniam, the private investigator hired by Abdul Razak Baginda released a shocking statutory declaration alleging the police had deliberately omitted pertinent information about the Altantuya Shaaribuu murder case.

In the declaration, he claimed that he had told the police that Razak said he was introduced to Altantuya by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore and that Najib told him that he (Najib) and Altantuya had a sexual relationship and that "she was susceptible to anal intercourse."

Balasubramaniam said Razak told him that Najib had asked him (Razak) "to look after" Altantuya aka Aminah because he did not want her to harass him now that he was deputy prime minister.

He also said in his sworn statement that Razak had told him that Altantuya had wanted money as she felt entitled to the US$500,000 commission from the submarine deal she had assisted the Malaysian government with in Paris; and that Najib, Razak and Altantuya all had dinner together in Paris.

Balasubramaniam also said the day Razak was arrested for abetting in the murder of the Mongolian translator, Altantuya, he (Balasubramaniam) was with Razak at the lawyer's office where Razak showed him Najib's sms which was sent while they were in the office.

Najib's message to Razak supposedly said: "I am seeing the IGP at 11am today...matter will be solved...be cool."

"I was sitting just beside Razak and he told me he had sent an sms to Najib and never received a reply. When we were sitting together, he received the reply. That's how he showed me the reply and also to the lawyer," Balasubramaniam said at a press conference Thursday.

The press conference was organised by Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the party's headquarters in Tropicana and attended by PKR office bearers, MPs as well as lawyers.

PKR said it was Balasubramaniam who approached them about the Altantuya case and not the other way around.

Altantuya was murdered between Oct 19 and Oct 20 2006 and her body was blown up using C4 explosives.

Razak is being charged with abetting with the murder while two police officers Sirul Azhar and Azilah Hadri are charged with murder.

Balasubramaniam said Razak had given him all this information about Najib "in an attempt to persuade me to continue my employment with him."

He said the police however, omitted all this information in his police statement of Nov 2006 but he signed it anyway because after being in the lockup for seven days he just wanted to go home.

"At the period of time I was in the lock up, I was on 40 days prayer and I was supposed to leave to India and I didn't get good vegetarian food in the lockup. After seven days, when the police officers brought me the statement and asked me to sign, I signed it. The police officers did not wear their names tags and show what ranks they are.

"As a man in the lock up, if you have had experience in the lock up, definitely you will sign the statement. I have 3 children (to think about).

"I was arrested under (section) 302 (for murder under the Penal Code.). What's the reason? In the first place there was no reason for the police to put me in the lock up.

They can call me everyday to take a statement. I was the private investigator for Razak," he said.

Balasubramaniam was a former police officer having joined the force in 1981. He resigned in 1998 when he was with the special branch and has been working as a freelance private investigator since then.

Razak first employed him in June 2006 for 10 days and again in Oct the same year.

Balasubramaniam's lawyer Americk Sidhu who was also at the press conference said his client (Balasubramaniam) decided to come up with his statutory declaration after the prosecution closed the Altantuya case on June 23.

"He was waiting for the prosecution to bring the evidence and was very surprised that this matter was not raised," he said.

Sidhu said Balasubramaniam did not say anything about the information Razak shared with him on Najib and Altantuya in court when he testified in the Altantuya trial because the prosecution did not ask him any questions about it.

He also stressed that Balasubramaniam's statutory declaration was "not a statement of truth" but rather what had been said to him by both Razak and Altantuya.

"Whether true or not - he doesn't know for sure. He just told what was told to him," adding that the purpose of the press conference was to bring to light there is "there is this evidence available."

"And if the prosecution wants to use it, Bala is available at anytime," he said.

In his statutory declaration, Balasubramaniam also said that Razak had told him that Altantuya was a great liar and good in convincing people.

He said when he met Altantuya, she too told him that she met Razak and Najib in Singapore, and they had dinner in Paris and she was promised US$500,000 as commission for assisting in the submarine deal and that Razak had bought her a house in Mongolia but her brother had refinanced it and she needed money to redeem it.

She also said that Razak had married her in Korea and asked if Balasubramaniam could arrange for her to see Najib while she was in the country.

Balasubramaniam also said that on Oct 20 after Altantuya had gone missing two of her friends showed up at Razak's home asking where she was and they came back a few days later convinced that she was being held in his house.

Following a commotion outside Razak's house, he said, he called the police and Razak to inform him of what was happening outside his front gate and that Razak told him a DSP Musa Safri would call him back on his handphone and to pass that call to the Inspector from Dang Wangi police station.

He said he did that and following the call, which lasted 3 to 4 mins, the Inspector told the two girls to leave and go see him the next day.

In his sworn declaration, Balasubramaniam said he wanted to bring to notice the strong possibility that there were individuals other than the three accused involved in the murder and that he disappointed at the standard of investigations conducted by the authorities.

He also wanted to persuade the relevant authorities to re-open their investigations so that fresh evidence may be presented.

"Having been a member of the Royal Malaysian Police Force for 17 years, I am absolutely certain no police officer would shoot someone in the head and blow up their body without receiving specific instructions from their superiors first," he said.

To a question, Balasubramaniam said now that he has come out with the statutory declaration, he was worried about his personal safety.”

UPDATE: Malaysia's SUN also shines, see article HERE

Astra non mentiuntur, sed astrologi bene mentiuntur de astris

- The stars never lie, but astrologers lie about the stars

Lux et veritas

- Light and Truth