Bereaved dad urges Malaysia against murder cover-up

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Reuters) The father of a Mongolian model believed to have been shot dead and blown to bits in Malaysia has appealed for a transparent investigation of the case, which has rocked Malaysia's political establishment.

The case of the 28-year-old woman has gripped the nation because a political analyst who has advised senior government officials and three police officers, including one who has served as a ministerial bodyguard, have been detained by police for questioning.

''By now the whole world knows about this incident,'' the woman's father, Shaariibuu Setev, 56, said today, fighting back tears.

He was speaking at a news conference, interpreted by his niece who had accompanied him to Malaysia. She relayed the translation to a Mongolia diplomat who did most of the talking.

''He hopes that the Malaysian police will give a very thorough and transparent investigation -- no cover-up,'' the diplomat, honorary consul Syed Abdul Rahman Alhabshi said, in translation.

''Until now, he is satisfied with the investigation.'' Malaysia's prime minister also called on Thursday, for a thorough investigation, saying no one was above the law.

No one has been charged so far for the murder, and police decline to comment on the case.

The model, Altantuya Shaariibuu, went missing last month on a visit to Malaysia to seek financial assistance from her lover to help her sick one-year-old boy, honorary consul Syed Abdul Rahman has said.

The missing-person case turned into suspected murder this week when police found bone fragments in jungle outside Kuala Lumpur. Local newspapers carried photographs of a scorched patch of bare ground in the jungle where they said the woman's dead body had been placed over explosives and blown apart.

Altantuya's father and cousin, who gave her name only as Amy, told the news conference today that they prayed DNA tests would show the remains did not belong to Altantuya.

''We are praying that she is still alive,'' said Amy, who hid her eyes behind a large pair of sunglasses. ''She is a very lovely person and beautiful person inside and out,'' she said, adding that her cousin also spoke Russian and Chinese.

The father, Shaariibuu Setev, said his blood and a sample of his wife's blood he had brought from Mongolia would be used by police to determine if the remains belonged to their daughter.

Shaariibuu Setev was introduced to the news conference as a psychology professor and director of a centre for information and education at the National University of Mongolia in Ulan Bator.

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