Altantuya murder: Family files for Razak Baginda to be declared bankrupt after failing to pay RM9.2m; he says claim ‘defective’

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — The family of Altantuya Shaariibuu has filed for Abdul Razak Baginda to be declared bankrupt after he failed to pay them RM9.2 million.

The family is seeking this amount after a civil court ruling in 2022 ordered Razak and three others to pay them RM5 million plus interest, according to a report by news portal Malaysiakini.

The other three parties are former police commandos Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, as well as the federal government.

According to the bankruptcy notice filed at the Shah Alam High Court on July 4, the family sought RM9,248,282.06 from Razak, which includes interest.

Karpal Singh & Co, the family’s legal counsel, argued that there has been no stay of execution on the High Court ruling from two years ago.

Judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, on December 16, 2022, ordered the four parties to pay compensation and interest, ruling that Azilah and Sirul were guilty of the October 2006 murder and that Razak was liable as he was the link to the involvement of the former police officers.

Vazeer ruled that RM5 million was an appropriate amount, stating that the initial RM100 million sought by the family was “excessive and cannot be justified”.

However, the court did not specify the amount to be paid by each party.

Razak has filed an application with the Shah Alam High Court to nullify the bankruptcy notice.

He argued that the family is disputing the RM5 million compensation ruling, which is evident in their ongoing appeal for higher damages before the Court of Appeal.

Razak also claimed that the RM9.2 million amount was miscalculated.

He further stated that the bankruptcy notice was defective since the family had never filed a separate claim against him for the judgment amount.

Razak and the government have filed appeals with the appellate court to overturn the entire ruling.

Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered in October 2006, and her body was destroyed with military-grade explosives.

Azilah and Sirul were convicted of the murder by a separate criminal court and sentenced to death in April 2009.

Razak was acquitted of abetting the murder by the criminal court in October 2008, without his defence being called.

Azilah is currently on death row in a Malaysian prison.

Sirul fled to Australia before the Federal Court upheld the death sentence for both men in 2015.

The Federal Court reversed an earlier Court of Appeal decision that had quashed the guilty verdict.

Sirul was held by Australian authorities, who have a policy of not deporting individuals facing the death penalty, but he has since been released.