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WITNESS: Ms Siti Aisyah said that her boss told her he did not ask policeman Azilah to kill his former lover, but only to protect his family. -- PHOTO: THE STAR
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HOURS before his arrest over the murder of his Monglolian former lover, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda had named policeman Azilah Hadri as the killer, a Malaysian court heard yesterday.
Abdul Razak's secretary Siti Aisyah Mohd Azlah, 23, who brought gasps to the court with her revelation, also said her boss had told her Azilah would make it appear that he had ordered the killing.
In response to questions from lead prosecutor Tun Majid Tun Hamzah, she said that Abdul Razak told her he had asked Azilah only to protect his family.
Yesterday was the first time a witness in the trial has named anyone as the killer of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu.
The latest twist came on the 12th day of a trial that has gripped Malaysians with its sordid story of blackmail and murder.
It followed a claim in the morning by Lance Corporal Rohaniza Roslan that she had been warned she would be shot if she testified.
The policewoman, who is also the former girlfriend of Azilah, said an unidentified man had called her cellphone on June 11, a week before the trial began.
'The caller said I would be shot if I testified,' she said. She immediately lodged a police report.
Abdul Razak is charged with ordering the killing of his former lover for allegedly hounding him for money.
Azilah and his colleague Sirul Azhar Umar are accused of murdering Ms Altantuya in October last year.
Abdul Razak was picked up by police on Nov 11.
Ms Siti Aisyah said that earlier that day, he had told her that Ms Altantuya had been killed.
The secretary knew Ms Altantuya as the woman Abdul Razak wanted barred from his office.
She said Ms Altantuya came looking for Abdul Razak three times between August and October last year, and had left threatening notes on several occasions.
And she said that as well as telling her that Azilah had killed the Mongolian, he had said the policeman - a member of the elite police squad which guards VIPs - was a chief inspector.
'That was when I said that this is all the more reason for him not to do such things,' she said.
'Abdul Razak agreed with me. He said Azilah will make it seem as if he ordered the killing. He said he did not ask Azilah to kill, but only to protect his house and family.'
The court will continue hearing the testimony of Ms Siti Aisyah today.
kumhor@sph.com.sg
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