Hitman claims Najib Razak ordered killing of model Altantuya Shaariibuu, accusing her of spying on Malaysia

Azilah Hadri, a former policeman on death row, says he had assumed he would receive the protection of Najib, who was defence minister at the time

Najib has dismissed the allegations as ‘complete fabrication’

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Policemen Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar arrive at court. In 2009 both were convicted and sentenced to death. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:09pm, 16 Dec 2019Updated: 10:13am, 18 Dec 2019

Thirteen years after the murder of Mongolian model and translator Altantuya Shaariibuu shook Malaysia, one of two policemen convicted of killing her has claimed from death row that he was acting on the orders of the disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak.

In a statutory declaration published on Monday by the Malaysiakini news website, Azilah Hadri claimed Najib had ordered him to “arrest and destroy” Altantuya in October 2006, when the politician was the deputy prime minister and defence minister.

The statement was made as part of the former policeman’s bid to seek a retrial.

In 2015, Malaysia’s highest appellate court upheld the conviction and death penalty handed down to Azila and Sirul Azhar by the High Court in 2009. Azilah is seeking a fresh trial, citing suppression of evidence in earlier proceedings. A case management hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

In an immediate response, Najib wrote on Facebook that the revelations were an attempt by the current Pakatan Harapan administration led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to ensnare him in a fresh conspiracy – and potentially have him detained without bail on a murder charge.

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