That acquitted was overturned by Malaysia’s Federal Court this month, reviving public outrage over the model’s grisly death.
Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar was taken into custody by immigration officials in Brisbane earlier this week, The Star quoted Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar as saying.
Mr Sirul did not show up to hear the verdict, at which point the court issued an arrest warrant. He faces the death penalty in Malaysia.
The ABC reported that Mr Sirul had arrived in Australian in October.
“The department detained an unlawful non-citizen yesterday in Brisbane,” a spokeswoman for Australian’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection Services said yesterday.
“The department is aware of the Malaysian authorities’ interest in this individual.”
Australian does not have the death penalty, nor does it extradite people to countries in which they may face execution for their crimes, a point which may have factored into Mr Sirul ‘s choice of Australia.
The Australian Attorney General’s Department does not comment publicly on extradition matters and would not confirm whether it had received a request for extradition in line with longstanding practice.
“Australian’s extradition legislation does not allow a person to be surrendered to another country for an offence punishable by death unless the country has given Australian an undertaking that death penalty will not be carried out,” a spokeswoman said.
Civil society groups have alleged Shaariibuu’s murder was linked to her role as an interpreter and associate of Razak Baginda, a former associate of Mr Najib, in Malaysia’s purchase of two Scorpene-class submarines from French shipbuilding giant DCNS in 2002. REUTERS