Malaysia's top court on Tuesday sentenced two police officers to death by hanging, after overturning their acquittal by a lower court in the killing of a Mongolian woman who had an affair with a friend of the prime minister.

The verdict ended an eight-year saga surrounding the high-profile case that the opposition has repeatedly sought to link to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The officers were the only suspects found guilty of shooting Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006 and blowing up her body with military explosives. Opposition leaders have repeatedly said that Najib must have had a role in approving the killing, but the prime minister has denied any links.