KUALA LUMPUR: They were always in the background, the core of the security unit in charge of the safety of VVIPs.But all that changed for Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar from the Special Action Squad three years ago.They were thrust into the limelight, charged with the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.
And even then, the two police commandos, were always in the background, this time with help from fellow officers who escorted them from the Sungai Buloh prison to the Shah Alam High Court.No matter the verdict today, Azilah and Sirul will always be remembered for the Ninja-style cover to hide their faces from press photographers.Today, they will no longer remain in the background.They will either be acquitted for the Mongolian woman's murder or they will be sentenced to the gallows.High Court judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin will deliver the verdict today after a trial which stretched over 159 days.Azilah, 32, and Sirul, 37, were charged with the murder at Mukim Bukit Raja between 9.54pm on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19, 2006. They were first charged in 2006 and were called to enter their defence on Oct 31, last year, after 84 prosecution witnesses testified.Azilah gave evidence from the witness box while Sirul testified from the dock. In his defence, Azilah, claimed he was not the last person to be seen with Altantuya.He had also filed a notice of alibi at the beginning of the trial, claiming he was not at the scene on the night Altantuya was murdered. He claimed instead that he was with his fiancee at a restaurant in Wangsa Maju.The court heard that Azilah was engaged to Norazila Baharuddin. He also has an adopted son.Sirul, meanwhile in his tearful testimony, claimed he was made a scapegoat in the case. The father of two read out a statement from the dock.Counsel Datuk Hazman Ahmad and J. Kuldeep Kumar represented Azilah, while Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, Hasnal Redzua Merican and Ahmad Zaidi Zainal represented Sirul.The prosecution team comprised DPPs Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah, Noorin Badaruddin, Manoj Kurup and Nadiah Hanim.Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was also charged with abetting the duo in Altantuya's murder. He was freed by the High Court on Oct 31 without his defence being called.Altantuya was a mother of two boys, aged 4 and 10.She attended high school in Russia and was also trained as a teacher and translator in English and Russian at the National University of Mongolia.Altantuya's murder grabbed headlines due to the manner of her death where her body was blown up with explosives.
And even then, the two police commandos, were always in the background, this time with help from fellow officers who escorted them from the Sungai Buloh prison to the Shah Alam High Court.No matter the verdict today, Azilah and Sirul will always be remembered for the Ninja-style cover to hide their faces from press photographers.Today, they will no longer remain in the background.They will either be acquitted for the Mongolian woman's murder or they will be sentenced to the gallows.High Court judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin will deliver the verdict today after a trial which stretched over 159 days.Azilah, 32, and Sirul, 37, were charged with the murder at Mukim Bukit Raja between 9.54pm on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19, 2006. They were first charged in 2006 and were called to enter their defence on Oct 31, last year, after 84 prosecution witnesses testified.Azilah gave evidence from the witness box while Sirul testified from the dock. In his defence, Azilah, claimed he was not the last person to be seen with Altantuya.He had also filed a notice of alibi at the beginning of the trial, claiming he was not at the scene on the night Altantuya was murdered. He claimed instead that he was with his fiancee at a restaurant in Wangsa Maju.The court heard that Azilah was engaged to Norazila Baharuddin. He also has an adopted son.Sirul, meanwhile in his tearful testimony, claimed he was made a scapegoat in the case. The father of two read out a statement from the dock.Counsel Datuk Hazman Ahmad and J. Kuldeep Kumar represented Azilah, while Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, Hasnal Redzua Merican and Ahmad Zaidi Zainal represented Sirul.The prosecution team comprised DPPs Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah, Noorin Badaruddin, Manoj Kurup and Nadiah Hanim.Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda was also charged with abetting the duo in Altantuya's murder. He was freed by the High Court on Oct 31 without his defence being called.Altantuya was a mother of two boys, aged 4 and 10.She attended high school in Russia and was also trained as a teacher and translator in English and Russian at the National University of Mongolia.Altantuya's murder grabbed headlines due to the manner of her death where her body was blown up with explosives.
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