Malaysia given 30-day deadline to pay murdered Mongolian’s family damages

A court on Wednesday ordered the government to pay millions of ringgit to Altantuya Shaariibuu’s family, pending the outcome of an appeal

Reading Time:2 minutes

Altantuya Shaariibuu was killed in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur in October 2006. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:07pm, 12 Feb 2025

A court in Malaysia has ordered the country’s government to pay damages to a murdered Mongolian woman’s family promptly, as long as the state’s appeal to have the decision overturned doesn’t succeed.

Judge Sumathi Murugiah on Wednesday ordered the government to deposit 4.7 million ringgit (US$1.1 million) within 30 days into the bank account of the lawyer representing Altantuya Shaariibuu’s family, which will be released if the government’s May 19 appeal fails.

Abdul Razak Baginda, a former adviser to ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, was also directed to deposit 4.7 million ringgit.

Altantuya had an affair with Razak, and according to witnesses in her murder trial, worked with him as a translator in relation to Malaysia’s 2002 purchase of submarines from a French state-owned company. Najib was defence minister at the time and Razak brokered the deal, which is under investigation for corruption in both countries.

Abdul Razak Baginda is escorted out of a police station in Kuala Lumpur in 2006. Photo: AFP

In 2022, the government, Razak and two former secret service policemen were found jointly liable for the 2006 murder of Altantuya. The family applied to the court for the judgment to be enforced because the parties haven’t paid damages yet. Both the government and the former adviser are appealing the 2022 decision.