KUALA LUMPUR • The Malaysian police are reopening investigations into the gruesome murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006.

"I can confirm we are reopening investigations," police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun told The Star daily yesterday.

He said police are reopening investigations based on the old police report and a new one lodged in the Dang Wangi district police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Deputy police chief for KL district Zainuddin Yaacob confirmed that the father of model Altantuya, Mr Setev Shaariibuu, lodged a report at Dang Wangi around noon on Wednesday.

Ms Altantuya, 28, was killed and her body blown up with explosives at a secondary jungle just outside Kuala Lumpur in October 2006.

In 2009, former police commandos Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri were found guilty of her murder.

The Court of Appeal overturned their sentences in 2013, but, upon the prosecution's appeal in 2015, the apex Federal Court upheld the sentences.

But Sirul had by then fled to Australia. He was held at a detention centre in Sydney after Interpol issued a red notice on him. He has been at the detention centre since 2015.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged together with the two commandos, was freed on Oct 31, 2008, after the court found no concrete evidence against him.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad met Mr Shaariibuu on Wednesday.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK