The High Court hearing into the murder of a Mongolian woman today delved into toll plaza closed-circuit television recordings, with the trial judge remarking at one point on the inaccuracy in the record of time.
Mohd Bahir Dal, 38, an assistant manager of toll highway concessionnaire PLUS, told the court that there was a difference in the record of time on the movement of a jeep between the time of the recording by a CCTV camera and the time of the transaction with a Touch 'n Go card at that same toll plaza.
He said there was difference of about 15 minutes between the two actions at the Kota Damansara toll plaza which uses two differing systems.
Mohd Bahir said that on the CCTV recording, he could see a Suzuki jeep entering the Kota Damansara toll plaza at 7:14:40 on Oct 19 last year, the day the Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, 28, was murdered.
On Sept 24 this year, a Special Action Squad (UTK) personnel, Sgt Rosli Ibrahim, had told the court that Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, the second accused in the case, owned a Suzuki jeep bearing registration number CAC 1883.
When asked about the CCTV recording at the Jalan Duta toll plaza, Mohd Bahir said: "There was technical fault then (on Oct 19 2006) at the Jalan Duta toll plaza and we (PLUS) could not make any recording at that toll plaza."
Earlier, he had told the court that he had printed out the picture of a jeep that had passed through that toll plaza on Oct 19 last year.
He said that on June 11 and 12 this year, he had gone to the Cyber Security office with investigating officer ASP Tonny Lunggan to verify that picture.
One of the four pictures he made reference to clearly showed a jeep bearing the registration number CAC 1883.
Mohd Bahir, the 36th witness, was testifying during examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah.
Besides Sirul Azhar, 36, the hearing also involves another UTK personnel, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 31. Both of them are charged with murdering Altantuya at a location between lots 12843 and 16735 in the Mukim of Bukit Raja here between 10 pm on Oct 19 and 1 am on Oct 20 last year.
Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 47, a political analyst, is charged with abetting them.
During cross-examination, by Azilah's counsel Hazman Ahmad, Mohd Bahir said the position and condition of the CCTV cameras were an important factor that determined the clarity of the pictures.
"There are similarities in the three pictures, which is the image of a jeep, but I cannot conclude that they are the same vehicle," he said.
A Malaysian toll plaza, from which CCTV recordings were presented in trial against political analyst, Abdul Razak, who is charged with abetting policemen to murder his Mongolian model mistress, Altantuya Shaariibuu.
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He also said that he could not identify the driver of the jeep.
The 37th witness, Rasidi Abdul Razak, 36, a technician with Propel, said there should be synchronisation in the recording of time on the CCTV camera and any transaction using the Touch 'n Go card as well as SmartTAG but the time could differ when there is a fault in the system.
"If there is a fault, no pictures will be recorded, all images on the display will be static, and the same goes for the time system," he said.
Rasidi said he was asked to rectify a fault at the CCTV camera in Kota Damansara on Oct 14 last year where there was a change in the time system.
However, he said, he was unsure whether the CCTV camera at that toll plaza developed a fault on Oct 19 last year.
"The faults are caused by a lightning strike, electricity disruption or human error. These can cause a change in the time," he said.
The 38th witness, Mohamad Rasidi Ali, 34, a technician with the same company, said he was asked to repair the CCTV camera at the toll plaza on Oct 25 last year because the pictures recorded by the camera were static.
Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin, hearing the case which had entered its 43rd day, remarked on the inaccuracy of time recorded by the system in use at the Kota Damansara toll plaza.
He asked Mohd Bahir whether his company had not considered any way of solving the problem as the faults had occurred numerous time and whether the CCTV camera had been wrongly positioned as to record unclear images.
Mohd Bahir said "we have appointed someone to look into it".
Hearing continues on Wednesday.
