Suspects to enter plea on Oct 2
SHAH ALAM: The High Court has set 23 days in October and November for the trial of Indonesian Siti Aishah and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam, who have been charged with murdering the estranged older brother of North Korea’s leader on Feb 13 this year.
Judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin fixed Oct 2 to 5, Oct 9 to 12 and Oct 24 to 26, followed by Nov 6 to 9, Nov 13 to 16 and Nov 27 to 30 when the case came up for case management.
Azmi also ruled that both Siti and Doan could enter their pleas on the first day of trial on Oct 2.
He also allowed prosecution’s application for the women to be jointly tried.
Siti, 25 and Doan, 29, are alleged to have murdered Kim Jong-nam at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 about 9am on Feb 13, 2017, with four men still at large.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, for murdering Kim Chol, which is Jong-nam’s alias.
Jong-nam, who is the halfbrother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, died after being allegedly administered poison by the two women.
During the proceedings, deputy public prosecutor Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad told the court that the prosecution would be calling 30 to 40 witnesses. He also informed the court that 10 of them will be expert witnesses.
At this juncture, Doan’s lawyers, Hisham Teh Poh Teik and Datuk Naran Singh, requested for witness statements, to which Iskandar told the court that the expert witnesses would be taking the witness stand.
Iskandar also said the prosecution had given the defence teams 44 documents, with 34 more given yesterday and another two or three more documents, pending. They will be handed over within the next two or three days.
Doan is also represented by counsel Salim Bashir.
Siti, who was seen crying when she entered court, was represented by Gooi Soon Seng, S. Selvi and Azura Alias.
Both women, clad in colourful baju kurung, later smiled at their lawyers and embassy officials when they entered court.
Siti even greeted acting Indonesian ambassador Andreano Erwin and embassy officials, and shook their hands.
The accused were allowed to speak to the officials and lawyers before proceedings started.
The prosecution team, led by Selangor prosecution director Muhamad Iskandar, comprises deputy public prosecutors Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam, Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, Mohd Fairuz Johari and Syed Farid Syed Ali.
It was reported that Jong-nam was killed by the VX nerve agent, classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.
Though the case management went on without a hitch, there was a little commotion when 14 people were trapped in a lift for about 30 minutes.
Firemen were called in to the court complex to pry open the lift doors.
A policeman, who had recently undergone an open heart surgery, fainted in the lift and had to be given first aid.