PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment on the Malaysian Government and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda’s appeal against the High Court decision allowing Altantuya Shaariibuu’s family to proceed with their civil suit over her 2006 death.
A three-member bench chaired by Judge Datuk Hashim Hamzah deferred its decision after hearing submissions from all parties.
“We will not deliver our decision today. We need time to deliberate,“ said Justice Hamzah, who sat with judges Datuk Azman Abdullah and K. Muniandy.
Case management has been fixed for October 27.
The Shah Alam High Court had on December 16, 2022 allowed the lawsuit filed by the model’s family and ordered former police officers Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, Abdul Razak, and the government to jointly pay RM5 million in damages.
Senior federal counsel Nik Mohd Noor Nik Kar, representing the government, argued that the RM5 million awarded to the family was excessive and suggested a more reasonable amount would be RM1.38 million.
“The trial judge failed to distinguish the personal liability of each of the respondents and instead imposed a global award of RM5 million,“ he said.
Counsel Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar, representing Abdul Razak, submitted that there was no direct evidence to show that Abdul Razak had instructed Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar to kill Altantuya.
His co-counsel Abraham Au argued that the RM5 million in damages awarded was unjustified.
“If the calculation for loss of income had taken into account Altantuya’s alleged monthly salary of RM6,000, the total would amount to roughly RM1.5 million, far lower than the RM5 million awarded,“ said Abraham.
Counsel Sangeet Kaur Deo, representing Altantuya’s family, submitted that the trial judge was correct in granting the RM5 million award based on his discretion.
“It is a trite law that the appellate court would be slow to intervene in discretionary powers. I asked for this court not to disturb the High Court’s finding,“ she said.
Altantuya’s parents and grandson had filed a RM100 million lawsuit on June 4, 2007, stating that her death caused them mental shock and psychological trauma.
Azilah Hadri was convicted in 2009 along with Sirul Azhar for murdering Altantuya in Shah Alam between October 19 and 20, 2006.
The Federal Court overturned their acquittal and confirmed their conviction and death penalty in 2015.
Sirul Azhar did not show up in court in 2015 and is believed to be in Australia.
On October 10 last year, the Federal Court commuted Azilah Hadri’s death sentence to 40 years in prison following a review application. – Bernama
