SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA: The High Court yesterday heard that an animal bone was found among murdered victim Altantuya Shaariibuu's bone fragments.

Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) forensics head, Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood, said based on his post-mortem report, he found that the bone was mixed together with fragments of the skeletal remains of a woman collected from the crime scene.

"The fragmented bones are that of a single human commingled with one non-human bone. The non-human bone was found in the group of the 95 pieces of human bones collected from the crime scene."

Dr Mohd Shah said only a strong force, such as explosives, could be the reason for the manner in which the bones were scattered.

Hence, in his post-mortem report, he stated that the Mongolian woman's cause of death was due to "probable blast-related injuries".

"Only explosives could have ripped the human tissues, skin, muscles and bones apart," he said during examination-in-chief by DPP Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah.

"I also noticed that the bark of the tree (in the area) was peeled off and this reinforced my finding."

When asked if Altantuya could have been hacked to death or bitten by animals, the witness replied in the negative as he did not notice any bite marks on the bones.

He also said there were no indications of a struggle but he could not rule out that possibility as the explosives could have affected the signs, such as the patterns of blood splatter.

Dr Mohd Shah also said, based on his observations, the explosives could have been placed on top of the victim's chest while she was lying on her back.

"This is because the spine was still intact as it was protected by the front part of her body. The bone fragments were later reconstructed and formed an incomplete human skeletal frame," he said, adding that the tissues showed it belonged to one person.

He said there was fresh green bone marrow residue found on the fragments.

Dr Mohd Shah said he and another doctor, whom he identified as Dr Norliza, had concluded that the deceased was about 30 years old and 163cm tall.

"A histopathology report was also carried out to help ascertain the time of death. The tests on the non-viable bones, however, could not determine the estimated time of death," he said.

During cross examination by counsel J. Kuldeep Kumar, who is representing one of the accused, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, the witness agreed the exhibits could have been contaminated by factors such as sweat (of the person handling the exhibits).

"If it were contaminated, however, the DNA results would not have shown that it was Altantuya's," he said.

Azilah, 32, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 37, are charged with murdering Altantuya, 28, in Bukit Raja between 10pm on Oct 19 and 11am the following day.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 48, is charged with abetting them.

Hearing before Datuk Mohd Zaki Md Yasin continues today.