KUALA LUMPUR: The immigration records of murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu are intact and have not been deleted, as previously claimed.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed this in a reply to a question by PKR Indera Mahkota member of parliament Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman, who had queried whether the police had probed into claims that the records had been deleted.
The last Parliament session ended sine die on Dec 4, but the written reply to the question was made available today.
“Police have investigated the entry and exit records of the deceased Altantuya Shaariibuu through the Immigration Department, and found that the records of her movements are in the system.
“Therefore, the issue does not arise that said records had been deleted by any party,” said Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, in a parliamentary written reply.
Fauzi also asked whether the police had identified any culprits of the alleged deed.
Allegations had previously surfaced, particularly from Altantuya’s family, that her immigration records had been removed from the system in an attempt to cover up the murder.
The confirmation by Zahid comes more than eight years after Altantuya’s father Setev Shaariibuu queried about the missing entry records.
These allegations first emerged during the trial of Abdul Razak Baginda in June 2007, based on the testimony by Uuriintuya Gal-Ochir, a friend of Altantuya.
The Altantuya murder, which occurred in October 2006, saw former police commandos Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri convicted of the crime and sentenced to death.
Sirul had fled to Australia, and the government is seeking to extradite him.
However, Australian law dictates that a person facing the death penalty in his or her home country cannot be sent back to face prosecution
