Trial of women over Kim Jong Nam murder set for October 2



KUALA LUMPUR, Haylena Krishnamoorthy (dpa) - The trial of two women accused of the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is to begin on October 2, a Malaysian judge ruled on Friday.
Doan Thi Huong, a 29-year-old from Vietnam, and Siti Aishah, a 25-year-old from Indonesia, appeared in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur wearing bullet proof vests and escorted by armed police.



The women are accused of wiping a highly toxic chemical nerve agent on Kim's face at Kuala Lumpur's international airport in February. If convicted, they could face the death penalty.
The two have reportedly said they were tricked into carrying out the attack, which they thought was a television prank.
At Friday's hearing, police also handed over evidence including CCTV footage of the incident to the women's defence lawyers.
Aishah broke down in the courtroom, with her lawyer Gooi Soon Seng telling reporters outside that she was increasingly anxious as her trial approached and that she had had "no guilty intention" towards Kim.
Referring to CCTV footage that was published by Japanese media in the aftermath of the killing, he said, "The CCTV footage did not show Siti Aishah applying anything, it just shows her walking away."
"She is an ordinary girl from Indonesia," he added, saying that prior to her arrest she had been a masseuse at the four-star Flamingo Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Doan's lawyer Hisham Teh Poh Teik said his client, an actress, was "well and fine" and insisted, "The Malaysian legal system says you're innocent until proven guilty."
Both lawyers said that four North Koreans who left Malaysia following the murder should not have been allowed to leave.
"We believe the main suspects are the four North Koreans that fled the country, if they are caught it would be much easier," said Gooi.
The VX nerve agent used is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.
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Friday, July 28th 2017
Haylena Krishnamoorthy
           


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