PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad met the father of murdered Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu on Wednesday (June 20) and agreed that the case should be reopened, according to lawyer Ramkarpal Singh, who was at the meeting.
"He agreed that it is a case that warrants further investigation," said Mr Ramkarpal, who represents her family. Tun Dr Mahathir met the victim's father Shaariibuu Setev and Mr Ramkarpal at the Prime Minister's Office.
"The Prime Minister, however, is also adamant that the process must follow the rule of law," Mr Ramkarpal said. "We also agree with him and have started the due process, which began with meeting the Attorney-General yesterday (June 19). We are confident that the rule of law will take its course."
He added that Dr Mahathir spoke in detail with Mr Shaariibuu in the 30-minute meeting.
Also present were a Mongolian translator and a representative from the Mongolian consulate.
Mr Shaariibuu had lodged a report earlier on Wednesday at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters seeking a fresh investigation.
He also said that Mongolia's President Khaltmaagiin Battulga had spoken to him over the phone to thank Dr Mahathir.
Ms Altantuya, 28, was shot and her body blown up with military-grade explosives in a forest in Shah Alam, Selangor, in October 2006.
Two former police commandos, Sirul Azhar Umar and accomplice Azilah Hadri, were convicted of murdering Ms Altantuya in 2009 and sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court, although the Court of Appeal overturned this in 2013.
On the prosecution's appeal, the apex Federal Court upheld their death sentences, but Sirul had fled to Australia by then.
Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged together with them, was freed on Oct 31, 2008, after the court found no concrete evidence against him.
Meanwhile, Mr Ramkarpal said the identity of the individual who ordered the murder of Ms Altantuya could already be determined from the previous police investigation.
He said: "I believe the previous investigation has already identified the person, or if there is more than one, who ordered the murder.
"Whoever ordered this should be brought to face justice. The crime is heavier than the one committed by those who followed orders and did the killing."
