‘Kim Chol met with US spy in Langkawi 5 days before his demise’

SHAH ALAM: Kim Chol or Kim Jong-nam, the North Korean leader’s half-brother, had met with an American spy five days before he was assassinated at the KL International Airport 2 ((klia2).

Investigating officer ASP Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz said the meeting took place at an apartment in Langkawi on Feb 9, 2017, but the motive could not be ascertained.

The issue of the meeting was raised by lawyer Gooi Soon Seng representing the accused from Indonesia, Siti Aisyah, 26, during cross examination in the trial of Siti Aisyah dan Doan Thi Huong, 29, who were charged, together with four men still at large, with murdering Kim Chol, 45, at the departure hall or the airport at 9 am on Feb 13 last year.

To Gooi’s suggestion, the 9th witness agreed that there was a meeting between Kim Chol and an American man, but the police had not been able to ascertain the man’s identity and whether or not he was a spy. When asked whether the man entered the country on Feb 6, 2017, the same day Kim Chol arrived in Malaysia, and whether the police knew about the arrival of the American man, the witness disagreed.

However, Wan Azirul Nizam said he had instructed his officers to go to Langkawi to investigate about the meeting, but they were unable to ascertain what were being discussed between the two men. The witness agreed with the lawyer’s suggestion that the police investigation in Langkawi was more on learning the motive of Kim Chol’s murder.

However, the witness disagreed with the suggestion that the police had been hiding information about the meeting from the court.

“I need time to revise the investigation diary before submitting it to court,” he said.

The trial before Justice Datuk Azmi Ariffin continues today. — Bernama