By Shannon Teoh | June 27, 2011 The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — A retired senior policeman has accused Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail of superceding the courts by dismissing private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s statutory declarations (SD) regarding the murder of Altantuya Shariibuu.
Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim said in an open letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar today that the Attorney-General was trying to ensure that the Mongolian’s murder case is not reopened.
The Shah Alam High Court ended a 159-day trial in April 2009, meting out death sentences to two police officers who are now appealing the judgment. “The question now is what right does Gani Patail (picture) have to decide that the contradictions in the two Bala SDs will not affect the Altantuya case.
“Or maybe he would like to admit that he is also acting as the Chief Judge hearing the case,” said the former Kuala Lumpur criminal investigation chief.
In July 2008, Balasubramaniam created headlines when he made public his SD linking then-Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak with Altantuya.
He made assertions about the relationship conveyed to him by both the Mongolian and Najib’s associate Abdul Razak Baginda, who was acquitted of abetting the murder.
Barely 24 hours after making the serious allegations, he created a second round of shockwaves when he made a second SD retracting his first, claiming that he was forced to make his earlier declaration under duress.
However, Balasubramaniam made another about-turn after going into exile, insisting his first SD was genuine and challenged the A-G to prosecute him in court.
The issue arose again in Parliament last week when the government said that it would not be taking any further action on Balasubramaniam’s SDs.
Opposition MPs criticised the decision, accusing the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration of being unable to prove that the private investigator’s first SD was false.
Mat Zain, who headed the 1998 police probe into former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s black-eye case, has repeatedly accused Abdul Gani of having deceived the federal government.
He recently called for a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the Attorney-General’s role in destroying public confidence in the police.