Masks worn as VX-tainted evidence shown

A Malaysian judge and court officials wore face masks and surgical gloves in court Wednesday as samples were admitted as evidence of where VX nerve agent was found on the body and clothing of the murdered half brother of North Korea’s leader.

On the third day of the trial of two women accused of smearing the banned nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam at a Malaysian airport, government pathologist Mohamad Shah Mahmood said tests detected VX, as well as VX precursors and VX byproducts, in Kim’s eyes, on his face, in his blood and urine, and on his clothing.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers then took a 20-minute break to examine the samples, which were sealed in transparent plastic bags. Most of them wore gloves and masks as a safety precaution after prosecutors warned the VX-tainted items may still be dangerous.

After the break, Judge Azmi Ariffin also covered himself as the samples were officially admitted as evidence.

The two suspects, Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam, have pleaded not guilty to murder charges that could bring the death penalty if they are convicted.

They have not testified but their defense has said the women believed they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera TV show and were tricked by men suspected of being North Korean agents.

Prosecutors also sought Wednesday to show VX was the sole cause of death. Mohamad Shah said toxicology tests found six types of drugs in Kim’s blood that are used to treat diabetes, hypertension and gout.

They included a type of Viagra typically used by heart patients, but he said those drugs and those conditions would not have caused Kim’s swift death. He also said the autopsy found no sign Kim had a heart attack.

Mohamad Shah said his conclusion that Kim died of “acute VX poisoning” was based on a chemist report of the presence of VX and the swiftness of death. Earlier testimony showed Kim died within two hours of being attacked in a crowded Kuala Lumpur airport terminal, not within 20 minutes as earlier stated by Malaysia’s health ministry.