KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — Private investigator P. Balasubramaniam has claimed returning three times to Malaysia this year since fleeing in July 2008 after issuing contradictory statutory declarations that link Datuk Seri Najib Razak to a murdered Mongolian model.
In the fourth part of an interview carried by the Malaysia-Today news portal, the former policeman said he stayed in Nepal and India while being on the run from authorities but managed to sneak into Malaysia without using his passport through the Thai-Malaysia border.
He also claimed he only recited what he was told to say to the police in his Bangkok statement when asked which statutory declaration (SD) was the truth.
"I was still in a state of confusion and was still concerned for the safety of my family," Bala said in the interview.
"I was made aware that Deepak had some very powerful connections, especially after meeting the Malay VIP Datuk at The Curve a few nights previously and his advice was still in my mind," he added, referring to the businessman whom Malaysia-Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin claims is linked to the prime minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
Bala said he was surprised at the depth and width of Deepak's connections to organise things for him apart from not having enough money to remain abroad.
He also claimed the suspended police officer whom he identified as one ASP Suresh had called him to advise changing hotels to avoid police officers from Kuala Lumpur.
"He also informed me to call my nephew in KL and ask him to stop talking to the press and to avoid holding any more candlelight vigils as this was making Deepak feel uneasy. I then called my nephew and told him to stop all activities of this nature and he agreed," Bala said.
Bala related that he was given 100,000 Thai bahts and later flew to the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu to get his Indian visa as they were told not to stay too long in Bangkok where the visa application would take five days.
"ASP Suresh told me Deepak did not want us to stay in Bangkok any longer as the police knew we were there and that is why he wanted us to leave to Kathmandu so we could apply for our visas there," he said, adding they managed to obtain one-month visas for India.
After spending 10 days in Kathmandu, they left for New Delhi on July 22 and two days later went to Chennai where Bala applied on his own for one-month visa extensions as they received no help from the businessman known as Deepak.
"I then sent my wife and children back to KL to stay with my mother-in-law in Segambut without Deepak’s knowledge," he confessed, saying he remained in Madras to extend his visa but even the businessman's agent called Kumar could not help for five months.
"I complained about this to Deepak and ASP Suresh when they visited me in Chennai," he said, adding the businessman then managed to get the passport back with a medical certificate as an excuse to stay in India as his visa had expired.
The private detective then sought assistance from his wife's uncle who was a state executive councillor for the Karaikal district, who got him an extension until Sept 5 this year.
Despite the visa problems, Bala said he managaed to return to Malaysia several times to handle his personal affairs.
"Each time I returned I entered the country via Thailand across the Malaysia-Thai border at Bukit Kayu Hitam and left the same way. I did not go through Malaysian immigration," he explained.
But he stressed only ASP Suresh knew he had returned to Malaysia, saying "he was upset with me for allowing my wife and children to return to Malaysia but I explained to him that my children needed to be educated and they could not get into a local school in Chennai."
Bala said he stayed with his wife who was living with her mother in Segambut while the children schooled in Sentul, adding his family visited him in Chennai several times.
"They are at present in Chennai. I managed to enrol my two eldest children into a school there. My wife may return to KL so that my youngest child can receive his schooling there. I will have to stay with my eldest two children in Chennai," he said.
Bala also gave the dates of his return to Malaysia, citing the first time as Feb 16 to March 5 this year where he met Deepak at the latter's office in Sungei Besi.
"He was very worried I had returned to Malaysia and asked me to go back to Chennai immediately. He warned me that my life would be in danger if I stayed any longer," he added
He said he later returned to Malaysia from April 11 to May 2 this year and the third time was at the end of July.
On the last visit, Bala said he contacted his lawyer Americk Sidhu to explain his situation in the past year.
"I was very unhappy with the situation I was in," he said.
The news portal said there are more parts to the interview.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan yesterday appealed for information on Bala's whereabouts despite the private detective claiming he gave a statement to the police in July 2008.
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