Doan went to South Korea four months before Kim’s murder

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here was told yesterday that Doan Thi Huong, the Vietnamese woman charged with murdering Kim Chol or Kim Jong-nam, went to South Korea four months before the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un died due to acute poisoning by the VX nerve agent.

Investigating officer ASP Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz, 40, said based on the entry stamp on Doan’s passport, the woman entered South Korea on Nov 2, 2016 and left the country four days later.

He said this when cross-examined by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharudin Wan Ladin during hearing of the high-profile case.

Wan Shaharudin: Based on Doan’s caution statement, when did she first meet Mr Y (North Korean man)?

Wan Azirul Nizam: According to Doan, she befriended the North Korean man (Mr Y) in early December 2016 at Hay Bar Coffee Shop, Ta Hien Streets, near Hoankiem Lake, in Hanoi.

Mr Y’s real name is Ri Ji Hyon, one of the four suspects still at large in Kom Chol’s murder.

Wan Shaharudin: Based on Doan’s passport, what can you see on page 47?

Wan Azirul Nizam: There is an entry stamp to South Korea on Nov 2, 2016, and also the stamp for her place of stay, which was Jeju district.

The ninth witness, testifying on the 38th day trial of Kim Chol’s murder case, said Doan did not say her reason for going to South Korea in the caution statement.

Siti Aisyah, 26, and Doan, 29, are jointly charged with four men still at large, with murdering Kim Chol, 45, at the at the Departure Hall of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) at 9 am on Feb 13 last year.

They are charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code and faced the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

On a “prank” by the two accused at klia2 on Feb 13 last year, Wan Azirul Nizam said their action was not a prank.

“In this case, I checked the dates when the two accused were alleged to make the prank through the police report system (PRS).

“However, I did not find any police reports by victims of the (alleged) prank,” he said.

Earlier, the proceeding became a bit tense when the defence team was not happy with the way Wan Azirul Nizam was testifying in court, which they claimed was based on opinion.

Lawyers Gooi Soon Seng and Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, who represented Siti Aisyah and Doan, respectively, submitted that Wan Azirul Nizam was not an expert to give his views on the “prank” video by their clients. The hearing before Judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin continues on April 5.