Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police on Sunday sought the assistance of international police in their hunt for a private detective who alleged that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak had sex with a murdered Mongolian woman, but retracted his statement just one day later. Balasubramaniam Perumal, along with his wife and three children, was believed to have gone into hiding, or is being hidden by other parties, said Malaysian Criminal Investigation Department director Bakri Zinin.
On Saturday, Balasubramaniam's nephew lodged a missing persons report after his uncle retracted a statement linking Najib with 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Bakri said police requested the assistance of Interpol to locate Balasubramianm and his family.
Balasubramaniam first released his statement on Thursday in the presence of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
He claimed he had information that Najib had sexual relations with Altantuya, a translator whose body was found blown up by military explosives in 2006.
Najib denied the allegation, calling it an attempt to smear his image.
On Friday, Balasubramaniam retracted his statement and claimed it was made under duress. He did not elaborate further.
Neighbours said they last saw him with his family leaving their home on Friday, the official Bernama news agency reported.
The Mongolian murder case grabbed the headlines after police arrested and charged prominent political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda - who has close ties with Najib - with her murder.
The prosecution recently closed its case in the ongoing trial.
