Autopsy showed signs of VX

SHAH ALAM: The remains of Kim JongNam was found to have constricted eye pupils while his underwear was soiled with faeces which are tell-tale signs of poisoning, the High Court was told, yesterday.

The 19th witness, forensics pathologist Dr Nurliza Abdullah, one of the two doctors who had conducted the postmortem of the North Korean, testified that both symptoms occurred due to the “cholinergic” effect caused by the VX nerve poison leading to loss of muscle control throughout the body.

“The cause of death is due to acute nerve agent VX poisoning based on our autopsy and lab test results,” she said when the autopsy report was presented to the court by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.

Following cross examination by defence counsel Salim Bashir, Nurliza agreed that the post-mortem report alone was not sufficient to confirm the VX nerve poison as the cause of death, with the conclusion only reached following tests by the Chemical Department, which found traces of the poison.

Earlier, the 18th witness in the case, Sgt Shamsul Bahrin Abdullah from the klia2 police station testified that he had informed Kim Yu Song, a consulate from the North Korean embassy on Jong-Nam’s death on Feb 13, calling him to come to the Putrajaya Hospital to identify the remains the next day at 10am.

However, Shamsul said the proposed post-mortem did not take place after Yu Song, another investigating officer and doctor emerged from a meeting in a room at the hospital.

He also told the court that he did not inform the South Korean embassy of the death as the passport was clearly North Korean.