Duo told to enter defence over Jong-nam murder
Viet, Indonesian in court again from Nov 1
SHAH ALAM: One cried while the other looked crestfallen when the two women charged with murdering North Korean Kim Chol, or Kim Jong-nam, at the klia2 last year were ordered to enter their defence.
Kim Chol, 45, is the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Justice Azmi Ariffin handed down the decision yesterday on Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 26, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 29.
“I find that the whole of the evidence presented by the prosecution at this juncture is credible for the court to safely accept, give due weight and act upon.
“For the reason I have already set out, I am satisfied that all ingredients of the charge against the accused that need to be proved have been established,” he said after delivering the two-and-a-half hour judgment, which began at 10am yesterday.
As soon as Justice Azmi handed down the decision, Siti Aisyah cried while Thi Huong looked sad in the dock.
Siti Aisyah and Thi Huong were then taken away in a police car at 1.30pm.
The two women were heavily guarded the whole time in court. They were ushered into the courtroom by a police team at 8.20am.
Siti Aisyah’s counsel Gooi Soon Seng and Thi Huong’s counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik informed the court their clients would give their testimony under oath from the witness stand.
The court then fixed Nov 1, 5, 7, 8, 12 and 13 and also between Dec 12 and 14 as the trial dates for Siti Aisyah to enter her defence.
For Thi Huong, the dates are in 2019, on Jan 7 and 10 as well as Jan 28 to 31. Another set of dates are between Feb 18 and 20.
Also present were Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Rusdi Kirana and S.R. Vietnam Embassy counsellor MA. Nguyen Dinh Tam.
They had gone to the court lock-up to meet Siti Aisyah and Thi Huong before court began.
Siti Aisyah and Thi Huong were charged with four others still at large for killing Kim Chol by smearing his face with a poison-laced cloth.
The crime was allegedly committed at the klia2 departure hall at 9am on Feb 13 last year.
Kim Chol was the alias used by Jong-nam when he travelled. Four other North Korean men jointly charged with the two women have left Malaysia.
Justice Azmi, in his ruling, said the two accused have proven common intention to commit the crime with the four North Korean men.
He said having considered the conduct of the four men before and after the commission of the crime, it showed these four did play a substantial role throughout the fatal encounter.
“Based on the CCTV footage, it can be seen that the four men were at the scene but what were they doing there?
“They were not just mere bystanders but they played a role and they were part of the chain that led to the murder of the deceased even though they had not lifted a finger on the deceased.
“The two accused were the ‘perpetrators’ leading to the death of the victim in a wellplanned conspiracy with the four North Korean men, who are still at large,” he added.
Met after the proceedings, Teh said there was a prima facie case and although his client was “obviously unhappy”, the judgment has to be respected.
“We will call between eight and ten witnesses from overseas and Vietnam to testify. We maintain that our client is innocent,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said it was a fair decision.
“The court ruled that the two accused’s act showed that they knew about the VX nerve agent and motive is not an issue,” he added.