KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — Lawyer R. Sivarasa was questioned for nearly four hours at the Commercial Crimes Division where he was summoned by the police to give his statement in relation to the statutory declarations (SDs) of missing private investigator P. Balasubramaniam.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, he explained that the lengthy interrogation was due to "slow typing on the computer" while his statement was recorded by ACP Tan Kok Liang. The questioning itself took three-and-a-half hours and was handled by investigating officer Supt V. Muniandy.
The lawyer, who looked a little weary after the lengthy questioning which lasted through lunch, informed reporters that he was connected with Balasubramaniam's first SD: he was the one who advised Balasubramaniam to seek a lawyer and to have his statement on the relationships of the people involved in the ongoing murder trial of Mongolian model and translator Altantuya Shaariibuu recorded.
"The focus was on the first statutory declaration. The police are investigating whether the SD was made voluntarily or under force.
"When I raised the issue of the second SD, the police could not provide a satisfactory answer," the MP for Subang said, adding that they did not divulge any information on who recorded Balasubramaniam's second statement or the identity of the Commissioner of Oaths to whom the statement was sworn.
He elaborated that in response to his query, the chagrined police asked if he had played a role in the second SD, to which he replied he did not, and that was the end of the matter as far as the police were concerned.
"To me, this raises a question. They must investigate the two SDs thoroughly to find the answer to the key question: Which of these two SDs are true?
"I am convinced that the first SD made by Bala was made voluntarily and I believe that the first SD is true."
Sivarasa, who is also the vice-president of Parti Keadilan Rakya, then commented on the Shah Alam High Court's rejection of the motion to summon Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and recall Balasubramaniam to the witness stand for the ongoing Altantuya Shaariibuu trial.
"Without taking this to court, how will we know which SD is correct?"
Sivarasa reiterated his party's stand on the need for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Balasubramaniam's two contradictory statements. In the second statement, the private investigator, who was hired by political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, accused of murder in the Altantuya trial, retracted all mention of Najib, whom he had earlier linked to the murder victim.
Sivarasa also reiterated that such investigations as the police are carrying out, including the questioning of lawyers, no matter how professionally it is conducted by the investigating officer, is "not correct and independent" as ultimately, the higher-ups in the police force were the ones who decided the direction of the investigation.
"This is not a fair and moral investigation," Sivarasa emphasised. He added that the top cop himself, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, has been implicated in past mischief-making, such as the allegations of fabricated evidence in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's 1998 trial for sodomy.
source: The Malaysian Insider
Speaking to reporters afterwards, he explained that the lengthy interrogation was due to "slow typing on the computer" while his statement was recorded by ACP Tan Kok Liang. The questioning itself took three-and-a-half hours and was handled by investigating officer Supt V. Muniandy.
The lawyer, who looked a little weary after the lengthy questioning which lasted through lunch, informed reporters that he was connected with Balasubramaniam's first SD: he was the one who advised Balasubramaniam to seek a lawyer and to have his statement on the relationships of the people involved in the ongoing murder trial of Mongolian model and translator Altantuya Shaariibuu recorded.
"The focus was on the first statutory declaration. The police are investigating whether the SD was made voluntarily or under force.
"When I raised the issue of the second SD, the police could not provide a satisfactory answer," the MP for Subang said, adding that they did not divulge any information on who recorded Balasubramaniam's second statement or the identity of the Commissioner of Oaths to whom the statement was sworn.
He elaborated that in response to his query, the chagrined police asked if he had played a role in the second SD, to which he replied he did not, and that was the end of the matter as far as the police were concerned.
"To me, this raises a question. They must investigate the two SDs thoroughly to find the answer to the key question: Which of these two SDs are true?
"I am convinced that the first SD made by Bala was made voluntarily and I believe that the first SD is true."
Sivarasa, who is also the vice-president of Parti Keadilan Rakya, then commented on the Shah Alam High Court's rejection of the motion to summon Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and recall Balasubramaniam to the witness stand for the ongoing Altantuya Shaariibuu trial.
"Without taking this to court, how will we know which SD is correct?"
Sivarasa reiterated his party's stand on the need for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Balasubramaniam's two contradictory statements. In the second statement, the private investigator, who was hired by political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, accused of murder in the Altantuya trial, retracted all mention of Najib, whom he had earlier linked to the murder victim.
Sivarasa also reiterated that such investigations as the police are carrying out, including the questioning of lawyers, no matter how professionally it is conducted by the investigating officer, is "not correct and independent" as ultimately, the higher-ups in the police force were the ones who decided the direction of the investigation.
"This is not a fair and moral investigation," Sivarasa emphasised. He added that the top cop himself, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, has been implicated in past mischief-making, such as the allegations of fabricated evidence in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's 1998 trial for sodomy.
source: The Malaysian Insider
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