Azilah files appeal against Altantuya murder conviction

PETALING JAYA: Special action unit operative Chief Insp Azilah Hadri has filed an appeal against his conviction and death sentence.
One of his lawyers, J. Kuldeep Kumar filed a notice of appeal at the Shah Alam High Court registry for him at 4.15pm Friday.
On Thursday, Azilah 32, and co-accused Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar, 36, were found guilty of murdering Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu and were ordered to be hanged to death.
Lawyer for Sirul, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal said that he would file the notice of appeal for his client on Monday.
In his 283-page draft judgment, Shah Alam High Court Justice Mohd Zaki Md Yasin ruled that both accused had failed to raise any reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.
Justice Mohd Zaki said he found that both accused had blamed each other and that their defence was mere denial.
Sirul and Azilah had claimed trial to murdering the Mongolian beauty between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006 at Mukim Bukit Raja here.
The two were ordered to enter their defence on Oct 13. Last October, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was acquitted, without his defence being called, of abetment in the murder of the 28-year-old Mongolian.
A total of 84 witnesses out of 198 had testified in one of the country’s high profile trial which took 165 days.