Judge rejects plea to stop Kim murder trial
TWO women accused of murdering Kim Jong-un’s half-brother were told yesterday that their trial must proceed.
The pair’s lawyers had argued that they were pawns in an elaborate plot by North Korea to murder Kim Jongnam, who was living in exile and estranged from his younger brother.
However Azmi, Ariffin, a High Court judge, said the evidence suggested a well-planned murder conspiracy between Siti Aisyah, 25, an Indonesian, and Doan Thi Huong, 29, a Vietnamese suspect.
He ordered the two women to enter their defence to the charges, and the defence phase of the trial is expected to begin in November.
The two defendants wore armoured vests at they arrived at the courtroom yesterday escorted by armed guards.
They claim they were tricked into believing that they were actors in a prank TV show when they smeared lethal VX nerve agent on Kim’s face. After the judge’s ruling, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, a lawyer who is representing Ms Huong, said “Though we are disappointed with the ruling, this is not the final ruling. We are still confident.”
He added that the judge had found the contrast in his client’s facial expressions before and after the killing at Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017 to be “suspicious” and wanted her to explain. “Doan has chosen to give evidence … her evidence will be co-examined and tested by the prosecution,” he said.
The women are the only suspects in custody. Four North Koreans said to have masterminded the plot and given them the poison have fled Malaysia.
Video recordings played in court showed the defendants meeting the four fugitives at the airport before the attack. They also show Huong appearing to smear something on Kim’s face.
The women’s lawyers argue that the pair, who are from poor backgrounds, were exploited as scapegoats by the North Korean regime. Pyongyang has denied it was behind the murder.