Malaysia vows to punish 'trigger-happy criminals' who downed MH17

Malaysia vowed on Tuesday to seek the prosecution of the "trigger-happy criminals" who downed flight MH17, after a Dutch-led investigation said it was shot down by a missile fired from war-torn eastern Ukraine.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement that as a party to the investigation "Malaysia remains single-minded in our pursuit of decisive action that will lead to prosecution of the trigger-happy criminals."

Prime Minister Najib Razak also released a statement vowing that his government would continue to press for justice "until those behind this heinous act are made to pay for their crimes."

In a highly anticipated announcement, the chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, Tjibbe Joustra, told a press conference in the Netherlands that the Malaysia Airlines plane was likely downed by a missile fired from a Russian BUK surface-to-air missile system.

Maps shown to reporters also indicated the missile was believed to have been fired from territory held by pro-Russian separatists.

All 298 people on board, most of them Dutch citizens, were killed.

The Dutch Safety Board, which led the international team of investigators, has stressed that its mandate was not to determine who pulled the trigger, amid a separate criminal probe by Dutch prosecutors.

Source: AFP