JONG-NAM CASE MOVED TO HIGH COURT
No date set for mention of case at Shah Alam High Court
news@nst.com.my
TWO women accused of murdering North Korean Kim Chol, who was later identified to be Kim Jong-nam, will stand trial at the Shah Alam High Court.
Sessions Court judge Harith Sham Mohamed Yasin, who sat as the magistrate, made an order for the case to be transferred to the higher court after allowing an application by the prosecution led by deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad.
However, no date was set for mention of the case at the High Court.
The accused, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, were accompanied by armed escorts as they arrived at the Sepang Court Complex about 9am yesterday.
The duo, who were clad in the same clothes that they wore at an earlier court proceeding, smiled at their embassy representatives as they were taken to the dock.
During the proceeding, counsel Gooi Soon Seng, who appeared for Siti Aisyah, said the defence team had yet to receive any of the materials that they requested in preparation for the trial.
Gooi told the court that the materials they requested included a closed-circuit TV camera footage of pranks being played at the airport several days prior to the murder.
“The materials must be supplied to the defence at the earliest opportunity or at the pretrial stage, and not at the 11th hour,” he said.
Replying to the counsel’s complaint, Iskandar, who is also Selangor prosecution director, said all the documents would be handed over once they had been compiled.
“The proper trial for this case is at the High Court. I undertake to supply everything in bulk.
“We have received everything... let us compile it nicely before handing it over to the defence,” he said, adding that the materials would be handed over to the defence before the trial or within three months.
Lawyer Datuk Jagjit Singh, who was appointed by the North Korean embassy to hold a watching brief for the high-profile trial, was present at the proceeding.
He told the that his role was to advise the embassy on their rights under Malaysian law and the Malaysian judiciary.
“I was first appointed on March 3 when a North Korean citizen, Ri Jong Chol, was detained for 14 days in regards to the case,” he said.
“After that, I advised the embassy on what they can do and what they can’t. That is all.”
Siti Aisyah and Doan are charged, with four others still at large, with murdering Jong-nam, the 45-year-old estranged halfbrother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The duo allegedly committed the offence at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 departure hall around 9am on Feb 13.
The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Jong-nam died on Feb 13 after being allegedly poisoned by the two women, said to be working for North Korean agents.