Kim Jong Nam murder case moves to Malaysian high court

MALAYSIA: The case of two women charged in Malaysia with killing the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader was transferred to a higher court yesterday, as a defence lawyer complained of not getting all of the documents he had requested.

Indonesian Siti Aishah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, face the death penalty if convicted of murdering Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. The two women are accused of smearing Kim’s face with VX nerve agent, a chemical described by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.

Aishah and Huong have told diplomats from their countries that they were unwitting pawns in what U.S. officials and South Korean intelligence have said was an assassination orchestrated by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of the isolated, nuclear-armed nation.

Aishah and Huong were charged on March 1 but the Sepang district magistrate court had twice deferred prosecutors’ requests for the case to be moved to a higher court pending collection of documents. Yesterday, the district court judge moved the case to the Shah Alam High Court. No date was given for the first High Court hearing but prosecutor Iskandar Ahmad told reporters the court should notify them ‘‘within a month’’.

Aishah and Huong were present for the hearing, their third court appearance, both wearing bullet-proof vests.

Aishah’s lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng, told the court the police and prosecution had yet to supply the defence with documents and other evidence needed for the case.

‘‘The concept of a fair trial demands that all material documents should be supplied to the defence at the earliest opportunity,’’ Gooi said.

Gooi said last month he feared a ‘‘trial by ambush’’ and said police had not responded to requests to provide evidence such as CCTV recordings and statements from other suspects.

Three North Korean suspects including a diplomat - were allowed to go home in March, along with the body of Kim Jong Nam. - Reuters CHINA: A legendary Chinese pingpong player was suspended as coach of the national women’s table tennis team yesterday in the wake of a lawsuit over his alleged casino debts.

The Chinese Table Tennis Association ordered Kong Linghui to return from the sport’s world championships in Germany as it investigates the allegations.

Table tennis is a national obsession in China, where the 41-year-old Kong is counted among the sport’s all-time greats after winning Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000.

The lawsuit filed in Hong Kong alleges he borrowed the equivalent of US$721,000 from Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino and has failed to repay almost half of his debt. Kong admitted he arranged for members of his party to receive gambling chips, but added that he didn’t gamble himself and was ``deeply upset’' by the allegations. -AP