Malaysian police escorted Doan Thi Huong (centre).(Photo: VNA)Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Police in Malaysia’s Selangor state requiredtwo Indonesian women to appear as witnesses in the trial relating to the murderof a citizen from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), who held apassport under the name of Kim Chol.
Selangor’s CriminalInvestigation Division (CID) chief Fadzil Ahmat said that the two women were identified as Raisa Rinda Salma, 24,passport holder No.B2421541, and DessyMeyrisinta, 33, passport holder No.B0464727, according to Bernama news agency.
Both witnesses were last seen at FlamingoHotel, Ampang, he said.
Fadzil urged anyone who know or haveinformation on them to report to thepolice.
The murder of Kim Chol took place at the Kuala Lumpur airport onFebruary 13, 2017. After the incident, the Malaysian police arrested somesuspects, including Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong and Siti Aisyah fromIndonesia.
Huong and Siti Aisyah were ordered to prepare her defence for next yearduring a court hearing on August 16. They were together accused of smearing theVX nerve agent on Kim Chol.
The defence phase of the trial is set to take place next year on January 7-10,January 28-31, and February 18-19.
The two defendants have insisted they are not guilty as they had no idea aboutthe murder conspiracy, instead claiming that they were duped into thinking theywere taking part in a harmless prank for a reality TV show when they attackedthe DPRK national.
However, the prosecutors have argued that they were well-trained assassins whoknew exactly what they were doing.
The women’s lawyers argued that their clients have faced unfair trial asauthorities were unable to catch the four DPRK nationals who recruited the pairand were the masterminds behind the murder. The court has been told that thisgroup of four had provided the women with the poison on the day of the murderbefore flying out of Malaysia.
If found guilty, Huong and Aisyah could face the death penalty.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia will work with relevant authorities inMalaysia in preparation for the next trials to protect legitimate rights andbenefits of the Vietnamese national.-VNA
VNA
