Oct 2 trial for two women over Jongnam’s murder
SHAH ALAM: The Shah Alam High Court has set 23 days beginning Oct 2 for trial of two foreign women who were charged with murdering Kim Chol or Kim Jong-nam, the estranged halfbrother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin fixed the date after the case came up for mention before him yesterday.
Siti Aisyah, 25, of Indonesia, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, were charged with four others still at large with the murder of Kim Chol, 45, at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) departure hall at 9 am on Feb 13 this year.
The duo, who looked calm, were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
The plea from both accused will be recorded on the first day of the trial on Oct 2.
The Court also allowed the prosecution’s application for the case to be jointly tried.
Earlier, Selangor prosecution director Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad, who led the prosecution team, applied for both the accused to be jointly tried as the case involved the same transaction.
He also informed the court that the prosecution would call 30 to 40 witnesses, including 10 expert witnesses.
Lawyer Gooi Soon Seng represented Siti Aisyah, while lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik acted for Doan.
They were first charged with the offence on March 1 at the Sepang Magistrate’s Court.
However, no plea was recorded from both accused as capital punishment comes under the jurisdiction of the High Court and on May 30, the case was transferred to the Shah Alam High Court.
According to Section 172B of Criminal Procedure Code, the trial shall commence not later than 90 days from the date of the plea recorded from the accused.
It was reported that Jong-nam was at klia2 on Feb 13 to board a flight to Macau when two women approached and suddenly wiped his face with toxic liquid which was later identified as the VX nerve agent.
Jong-nam, who travelled with a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol, died while on the way to Putrajaya Hospital. He came to Malaysia on Feb 6. - Bernama