Private Investigator and family may be held 'against their will'

Source : Malaysiakini

Missing private investigator P Balasubramniam and his family might be held against their will, alleged the former’s nephew R Kumaresan.

MCPX

Kumaresan (left) and his brother Segar were met by reporters at the Gombak police headquarters where they were summoned to facilitate investigations into the matter.

"The police are saying he is either in hiding or is being hidden. But why aren't the police considering the fact that they could be held against their will," he asked.

Lawyer N Surendran, who accompanied the brothers, said these concerns have been conveyed to the investigating officer, "especially in the current circumstances … the man made allegations against the DPM."

He added that Kumaresan suspects that there is a possibility that Balasubramaniam was forced to retract the controversial allegations he made in a statutory declaration.

Kumaresan, who lodged a police report on Balasubramaniam’s disappearance on July 5, said his uncle went missing after retracting his first statutory declaration on July 3.

In that declaration, the private investigator had implicated Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shariibuu.

The next day, he made another declaration stating that he made the first one "under duress" and described its as being "inaccurate and not the truth."

The whereabouts of Balasubramaniam, his wife and three children could not be ascertained since then.

What happened in those few hours?

According to Surendran, the withdrawal of the statutory declaration and Balasubramaniam’s comments have raised doubts.

He also revealed that Balasubramaniam informed Segar of the statutory declaration on Tuesday (July 1) before going public with the contents.

Segar (right) said: "When he gave the declaration to me he was normal… he didn't look pressured at all but he asked me not to show it to anyone else and pass it on to Kumaresan. But when we watched the press conference on television the day he withdrew the declaration, he looked stressed." (photo below: Segar, centre, with Bala's family)

Kumaresan wanted to know what happened between Thursday evening and Friday morning, which prompted his uncle to change his stand.

"I don't even know if they are still alive… my mother is not alive and my aunt is like a mother to me… I cannot accept anymore losses," he added.

Balasubramaniam was hired by political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who is one of the three charged in connection with the murder.

Abdul Razak is closely linked to Najib. The deputy premier has repeatedly denied the allegations linking him to the case.