Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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PUTRAJAYA: Six people including two of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s brothers have filed a motion to strike out an appeal by the widow of a witness in the murder trial of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuuu, to reinstate her suit for losses suffered during the family’s five-year exile in India.

Lawyer Americk Sidhu who is representing A Santamil Selvi, the wife of private investigator P Balasubramaniam, said the motion was filed in the Court of Appeal on Tuesday and the matter will be heard on April 10.

“They want to strike out the appeal on the grounds that seven separate notices of appeal should have been filed following the High Court’s decision last year to strike out the widow’s suit,” he said.

Americk said he filed one notice of appeal because the High Court only delivered one decision in favour of all applicants.

The lawyer said the other respondents named in her suit — Najib, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishin — have yet to file their applications to strike out the appeal.

“But I believe the lawyers for the three will file the papers before April 10,” he added.

Apart from Datuk Johari and Datuk Nazim Razak, those who have filed the application to strike out the appeal are senior lawyer Tan Sri Cecil Abraham, his son Sunil Abraham, commissioner for oaths Zainal Abidin Muhayat, and lawyer M Arulampalam.

High Court judge Datuk Hasnah Mohamed Hashim, in dismissing Santamil’s suit last December, said she lacked the capacity to file for action on behalf of the estate of her late husband.

“There is no special circumstance to allow the merits of the suit to be heard because she has no locus standi,” Hasnah said.

The RM2 million suit would expose the respondents’ roles in sending her family into exile following controversies surrounding two statutory declarations made by Balasubramaniam involving Altantuya and Najib.

This would also include why PI Bala was forced to retract his first sworn statement that highlighted Najib’s involvement with Altantuya, and why he and his family were forced to leave the country for almost five years in 2008. — The Malaysian Insider

 

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 13, 2015.

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