Thursday June 12, 2008 MYT 5:22:57 PM

Altantuya trial: 'What soft approach in interrogation?'

BY CECIL FUNG

SHAH ALAM: It was no soft approach -- that is what C/Insp Azilah Hadri said about the interrogation process he went through last year at the hands of Bukit Aman's interrogations division chief.

The chief inspector disagreed with a suggestion by DPP Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah that Deputy Supt Zainudin Abdul Samad had not resorted to any rough tactics when interrogating him.

This was contrary to the testimony given by the interrogator, who claimed he used a psychological approach to get the murder accused to open up.

C/Insp Azilah, who is accused of murdering Altantuya Shaariibuu together with his Unit Tindakan Khas squad mate Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar, claimed DSP Zainudin had snapped at him and had tried to hit him.

DPP Tun Abd Majid: Were you assaulted?

C/Insp Azilah: No.

DPP Tun Abd Majid: You managed to evade him?

C/Insp Azilah: He threatened to hit me. He made as if he was going to hit me.

DPP Tun Abd Majid: Do you know why he did that?

C/Insp Azilah: No.

DPP Tun Abd Majid: As a police officer, you have no idea why?

C/Insp Azilah: No.

DPP Tun Abd Majid: Do you know what is interrogation?

C/Insp Azilah: Yes, it's a process whereby the police try to obtain information from a suspect either through interviews or by threatening or assaulting him.

DPP Tun Abd Majid: It includes threats and assaults?

C/Insp Azilah: Yes.

DPP Tun Abd Majid: Which method did DSP Zainudin use on you?

C/Insp Azilah: He tried to hit me and he threatened me. He made as if he was going to hit me.

However, the chief inspector admitted that he did not lodge a police report about it even though DSP Zainudin had resorted to such tactics.

C/Insp Azilah also said he was puzzled that DSP Zainudin had threatened him about "Aniza" - or his ex-girlfriend L/Kpl Rohaniza Roslan - when the interrogator asked him to point at the alleged spot where Altantuya was killed.

He said this was because she was not brought to the crime scene.

To a question by his counsel Datuk Hazman Ahmad, C/Insp Azilah this was also the same reason why he replied that Aniza was "not involved" when answering another question from the prosecution on Wednesday.

The chief inspector was testifying as the first witness in the murder trial's third trial-within-a-trial to determine the admissibility of part of the testimony given by C/Insp Koh Fei Cheow, the officer who escorted him to the crime scene.

That part of the testimony relates to information C/Insp Koh claimed to have obtained from C/Insp Azilah that led police to the secluded site where Altantuya was allegedly shot and blown up.

The hearing continues on Monday.