Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda’s DNA profile was not detected on the wristwatch, ring and earrings belonging to murdered Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, the High Court here heard today.
Bone fragments of a Mongolian model who was brutally murdered are being returned to her homeland.
|
K. Primulapathi Jaya, the director of the forensic division at the Chemistry Department in Petaling Jaya, said he also did not detect Abdul Razak‘s DNA profile on Cpl Sirul Azhar Umar’s slippers but Altantuya’s DNA were found on it.
When giving testimony in this high-profile trial yesterday, Primulapathi had said that the DNA of the bloodstains on the slippers and jewellery belonged to the biological daughter of Setev Shaariibuu and Altansetseg Sanjaa (Altantuya’s parents).
Sirul Azhar, 36, and Chief Insp Azilah Hadri, 31, both of whom are from the Police’s Special Action Squad (UTK), are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, at a location between Lots 12843 and 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, between 10pm on Oct 19 last year and 1am the following day.
Abdul Razak, 47, a prominent political analyst, is accused of abetting them.
During examination-in-chief by Noorin Badaruddin, Primulapathi, 54, said analysis of mitochondrial DNA of Sirul Azhar’s blood specimen and that of Abdul Razak’s found them to be quite similar.
Noorin: “Blood specimens marked Sirul Azhar and Abdul Razak similar? Does that mean that they are maternally related?”
Primulapathi: “Yes, along the same maternal line.”
Noorin: “ It’s like ‘bau-bau bacang’ (distantly related)?”
Primulapathi: “Yes.”
However, when cross-examined by Abdul Razak counsel, Wong Kian Kheong, Primulapathi explained that mitochondrial DNA analysis involved two regions designated HV1 and HV2 that must be read together.
Wong: “Look at your report (Mitochondrial DNA analysis) at HV2 region, do you agree that Sirul Azhar’s blood specimen differs from Abdul Razak’s ?”
Primulapathi:"Yes”
Wong: “This would indicate that both persons may share a different maternal lineage?
Primulapathi: “Mutations could have occurred”.
Earlier, Primulapathi had said that he relied on Altentsetseg’s blood specimen for comparison to identify the maternal lineage of the donor of strands of hair and tissue specimens labelled ‘unknown’.
The 39th prosecution witness also said that from his analysis he found that the donor of the blood stains on the slippers and the donor of the hairs and swabs from a wristwatch, earrings, ring and a jacket, matched that of the tissue specimen labelled ‘unknown’.
Noorin: “Can you conclude that the donor of the blood stains on the slippers, hairs, and swabs from jewellery is the same person?”
Primulapathi: “I can only infer based on the results which I obtained that they could have all come from the same person. As I have said earlier, mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that all these, blood stains on slippers, hairs and swabs from jewelleries and jacket had come from persons of the same maternal lineage.
“So based on Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA profiling which revealed that tissue specimen labelled ‘unknown’ was the biological daughter, therefore I can infer that the hair, blood stain and swabs could have come from the same person too.”
Noorin: “If the donor of the blood stain on the slippers, hair, and swabs is a different person but with the same maternal lineage, who could that person be?”
Primulapathi: “I would say it could either the sister, mother, brother, grandmother. All those who have the same maternal lineage.”
Asked by Noorin how much of handling would be needed before DNA could be found on any article, he said that a person must have handled items quite strongly because a mere touch would not leave a DNA profile and that they must also be handled quite substantially or for a long time.
Noorin: “How else could a DNA of a person be found on an article without any contact? Is it possible?”
Primulapathi: “It can happen if someone could just take a blood sample, extract the DNA out, put it on the items and dry it out. That someone must have some knowledge about DNA.”
He said that there was a possibility of DNA disappearing or dropping off from an article but it was very unlikely.
Primulapathi further said that besides taking blood specimens from any item to conduct DNA analysis, swabs could also be taken from human body cells that are discarded everyday, like sweat and skin flakes.
Hearing before Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin continues Monday.
