Altantuya Blown Up Naked, Court Told

SHAH ALAM, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu whose remains were found in some bushes in November 2006 could have been naked when she was blown up at the scene, the High Court here heard today.

Forensic consultant Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood said he drew this conclusion because no traces of fibre were found at the site in the bushes between Puncak Alam and Puncak Perdana here.

"I went to the scene on Nov 7 and 9, 2006 to carry out investigations into the remains of a person found there. From my observation, the deceased was probably undressed when the injuries were inflicted," he said.

Dr Mohd Shah who is Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) Forensic Department Head said that during the investigations, he found 322 human bone fragments at the scene.

Asked by deputy prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah why he went to the scene twice, he said that after his first visit, he found that the bone fragments were not enough to form a complete human skeleton.

"I later suggested to the investigating officer, ASP Tonny Lunggan, to carry out a more thorough search," he said at the trial of Chief Insp Azilah Hadri, 32, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 37, charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, in Bukit Raja between 10pm on Oct 19 and 11am the following day.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 48, is charged with abetting them.

Dr Mohd Shah, who is the 70th witness, said that after carrying out the examination for the second time on Nov 9, the bone fragments still could not form a complete human skeleton.

He said he carried out the examination and pieced together the bone fragments together with forensic anthropologist Dr Nurliza Abdullah.

All the bone fragments were handed to him by Lunggan at the mortuary of the Forensic Department, HKL.

Dr Mohd Shah said Lunggan gave him 34 packets of exhibits for analysis which were later handed over to the Chemistry Department.

The trial before justice Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin continues tomorrow.



-- BERNAMA