KUANTAN (July 8, 2008) : Police have not ruled out the possibility that missing private investigator P. Balasubramaniam who recently made two statutory declarations relating to the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case, is now overseas.Federal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin said besides monitoring Malaysia's entry and exit points , Bukit Aman had contacted Interpol to trace Balasubramaniam.
"We are still searching for him and want to take a statement from him on the statutory declarations he made recently," BERNAMA quoted his as saying after witnessing the handing-over of duties of the Pahang police chief here today.
Pahang deputy police chief Datuk Robiah Abdul Ghani is now acting state police chief with state chief Datuk Ayob Mohamed going on leave before retiring on Sept 8.
Balasubramaniam, a former Special Branch detective, had on July 3 made public a statutory declaration (SD) linking Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak with murdered Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu before retract it in another SD the next day.
"If he is scared, he can come with his lawyer, and if he asks for safety guarantee, we will fully cooperate with him by giving him security protection," Bernama quoted Bakri as saying.
"And we assure him that we will give him safety protection, just like we have done for Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the former aide of PKR adviser (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim)".
On the claim by Balasubramaniam's nephew R.Kumaresan that the private investigator and his family were not on the run but had been detained by someone, Mohd Bakri declined comment, saying police would not act on assumptions.
Mohd Bakri who said police are getting statements from individuals who last met Balasubramaniam, added it was not the intention of the police to put unnecessary pressure on the private investigator, but they need to expedite the investigations.
On investigations into the sodomy allegation against Anwar, he said police had recorded statements from 18 witnesses, including the doctors who had examined Mohd Saiful, he said, adding that more people are expected to be called to have their statements taken.
Asked if Anwar would be called for the same purpose, Mohd Bakri said:
"We have to first record the statements from witnesses....we'll see, we'll study and then we will do the same (with Anwar)."
Mohd Bakri also urged other individuals who may be involved to come forward with information without police having to go after them as provided for under Section 111 of the Penal Code.
Meanwhile, the lawyer who drafted the contents of the first statuatory declaration (SD) for Balasubramaniam today lodged a police report to clear his name after his client retracted the allegations and claimed it had been done under duress.
Lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu who lodged the report at the Brickfields police station at 3pm said Balasubramaniam's second SD had said the first was done under duress, and that it may create a notion that he, the lawyer (Americk) had forced the private eye to sign it.
Americk told reporters today he still believed what Balasubramaniam had stated in his statutory declaration was true. and that he had no doubts about him.
"There is criminal defamation involved against me personally as by Bala's second declaration, there is insinuation that I forced him to sign the first one. I do not see how he could have done the second statutory declaration voluntarily.
"He must have been induced, threatened and intimidated to do it. This is my personal feeling about it and the police should investigate the case from this aspect. That is the only reason why I am here. Bala should explain why he retracted his first SD," he said.
He said police have yet to record a statement from him since Balasubramaniam retracted the first statutory declaration.
Americk, who was accompanied by two other lawyers, John Fam and Manjeet Singh Dillion, also said he was misquoted in media reports that he had sent Balasubramaniam to Brickfields police a day before he went missing.
"I only asked him to go meet Tony (Investigating Officer ASP Tony Lunggan) and Bala did not go alone. He went with his own bodyguard and another person," he said.
However, Americk said he learnt the following day from Balasubramaniam's bodyguard that the three of them never met the police.
Americk said he was introduced to the private investigator two months ago at a restaurant by other lawyers.
He said Balasubramaniam had spoken about the details he stated in the first statutory declaration to him and he decided to help him draft it.
He reiterated that he was in no way associated with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or had no hidden agenda in assisting the private investigator with the statuatory declaration, and that he has no idea where Balasubramaniam and his family are.
The Sun
09/07/08
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