Kuala Lumpur: Former policeman Sirul Azhar Umar, who is facing the death sentence for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, is still on the Interpol Red Notice list.
Bukit Aman criminal investigation department (CID) director Shuhaily Zain said Malaysian police had never requested for Sirul’s name to be taken off the Interpol list.
“If he is removed from the Red Notice list, then there would be no need for us to bring him back. So, the notice remains as it is,” Shuhaily said at a press conference here.
He added that the issue of Sirul’s extradition is beyond the police and under the purview of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) now.
Sirul and fellow former police officer Azilah Hadri were convicted by the High Court in 2009 of killing Altantuya. In August 2013, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction, setting them free.
However, in January 2015, the Federal Court reversed the acquittal and reinstated the original conviction and mandatory death sentence set by the High Court.
Sirul fled to Australia before the final ruling by the apex court in favour of the prosecution.
On Nov 14, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said the government is expected to seek the help of the Australian attorney-general to extradite Sirul.
Sirul was recently released from an immigration detention centre in Sydney following an Australian High Court ruling that quashed indefinite detention in the country.
Meanwhile, Shuhaily said 51 reports had been lodged over the recent hoax bomb threats against public, private and international schools nationwide.
He said the motive of these threats is still unknown and that investigations are ongoing.
“We have opened 10 investigation papers under Section 507 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“We are cooperating with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Interpol,” he said.
He added that police are committed to ensuring the security and safety of the schools that received these threats.
“We will be visiting each school that received these threats to ensure that there are no elements of sabotage and that the peace of this country is not threatened,” he said.
Other countries, such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany and the US, have also received hoax bomb threats. Jamaica reportedly received as many as 70 hoax calls.
