Trial Begins for Two Women Accused of Murdering Kim Jong Nam

(SHAH ALAM, Malaysia) — The trial of two women accused of poisoning the estranged half brother of North Korea’s ruler is scheduled to begin Monday in Malaysia’s High Court, nearly eight months after the brazen airport assassination. Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are suspected of smearing Kim Jong Nam’s face with the banned VX nerve agent on Feb. 13 at a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur, killing him within about 20 minutes. The women say they thought they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera show. The women are the only suspects in custody in a killing that South Korea’s spy agency said was part of a five-year plot by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to kill a brother he reportedly never met. Police say several North Koreans suspected of involvement left the country on the day of the attack and others were allowed to leave later in a diplomatic deal with Pyongyang. The two women, who face the death penalty if convicted, will plead not guilty, their lawyers said. District Assistant Commissioner of Police Shafien Mamat confirmed that both suspects arrived at the court Monday morning. Prosecutors will then start to call their witnesses, with the first few likely to be medical experts to establish the cause of death, said Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Huong’s lawyer. The trial is expected to last for about two months, after which the judge will decide if there is a strong case for the women to have to mount t...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized kim jong nam Malaysia North Korea onetime Source Type: news