What to Know About the Brutal 2006 Murder That Shocked Malaysia

In 2006, a 28-year-old Mongolian woman named Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered in Malaysia and her body blown up with explosives. The gruesome nature of her killing, along with her links to powerful figures including then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who would later become prime minister, gripped the country and dominated headlines. Two secret service policemen were convicted of her murder, but the question of whether someone ordered them to do it — and if so, then who — remains one of the country’s biggest unsolved mysteries. Now, almost two decades later, her family is still seeking justice.

She has been described by local media as a model and a translator, although there’s no evidence that she was either. Court documents and trial testimony confirm that she had a romantic relationship with a married man named Abdul Razak Baginda, then an adviser to Najib. Now the former premier is in prison for corruption related to the 1MDB scandal, and has been campaigning to serve the rest of his term at home.