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A YEAR after two masked men burst into the flat of Sanjaasurengiin Zorig, the hero of Mongolia's 1990 democratic revolution, and stabbed him to death, the police are still looking for his killers.

 Zorig was admired for leading daring protests which toppled Mongolia's Stalinist regime and died just as he was poised to become prime minister. His death shook the country and dealt a blow to Mongolia's first non-communist government in 78 years which looks certain to lose power in next year's elections.

 'It is still a mystery after 11 months. It is very unusual that investigations into a murder would drag on so long,' said Professor Sodovsuren Narangerel, a leading lawyer.

 'Police are intensifying their investigations and looking into whether it was an organised assassination for political reasons,' said Erdenebileg Tumurochiryn, a politician and friend of Zorig.

 Most Mongolian murders are the result of drunken brawls with police catching 90 per cent of the culprits, but in Zorig's case, the clues point to a premeditated crime.

 The motives are still a puzzle but many suspect Zorig's murder is tied up with an investigation into allegations that Macau-based businessmen bribed politicians to obtain an exclusive licence to run a casino.

 'I believe his murder was more to do with corruption than politics,' said Onon Tserenjampts, the editor and founder of youth newspaper The Nation.

 In June 1996, a coalition of the Social and National Democrats won 65 per cent of the vote and pushed out the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), which has ruled the country since 1921.

 The new government, whose members were all in their 20s and 30s, promised to usher in the most radical market reform package in the former Soviet bloc by privatising everything.

 As a result, the private sector is booming but plans to sell off big state companies such as Erdenet copper mine, MIAT airline, Gobi Cashmere company and government-run monopolies for fuel and alcohol, have been suspended amid public anger over corruption.

 'I am for the democrats but they have proved to be more corrupt than the former communists,' said Mr Tserenjampts.

 Mr Tumurochiryn, who is working on setting up an independent commission to fight corruption, said: 'Polls show that our support has dropped to 12 per cent and we have little hope of staying in power next year.'  The young democrat government, led by its fourth prime minister, has lost the presidency and two by-elections to the MPRP, apparently tarnished by its laissez-faire philosophy.

 The casino affair has become a symbol of what went wrong and began with the new government's decision to legalise gambling.

 Several casinos opened with provisional licences. The biggest was in the prestigious Chinggis Khaan Hotel and operated by German-Malaysian company, Casinos Mongolia.

 At that time, a committee of parliamentarians began preparing a law on gambling. They went on expenses-paid trips to Macau and were allowed to try their hand at gaming tables.

 At the end of 1997, they rushed through a draft law which came into force in January last year. Tenders were called and in July, a shadowy Macau company won a 10-year monopoly to operate casinos. It began by taking over the facilities at the Chinggis Khaan.

 Zorig, as minister for infrastructure, was responsible for supervising contracts and tenders, and might have become suspicious of what was going on, but by October 2 he was dead.

 Parliament suspended the casino deal. A police probe in March revealed irregularities in the tender process and by April, suspects were rounded up.

 One was Luvsanchultem Baigal, the Mongolian businessman running the Macau-backed casinos, who accused top officials of accepting bribes.

 Parliament voted to lift the immunity of three politicians, two of whom were jailed for four months.

 'Estimates vary but they probably handed out about US$1 million [HK$7.73 million], imported dozens of luxury cars free of charge and distributed them,' Mr Tumurochiryn said.

 'None of the Chinese can now be found and it has been difficult to find out any details of their company - but it had no previous connection with running casinos or gambling,' he said.

 'It is still unclear who was behind them. Many suspect that the Macau Mafia had planned to move out of Macau before the handover and relocate in Mongolia, but no one is sure just how Zorig's death is tied up with this.' 



Mongolia playing for high stakes