Kim murder suspects appear in Malaysia court, trial postponed

Two women accused of murdering North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s exiled half-brother in Malaysia have appeared at a court.

Handcuffed and wearing bullet-proof vests, Indonesian Siti Aishah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, were carried by two separate police convoys to the Sepang magistrate’s court near the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday morning.

Like their first court appearance in early March, the Thursday proceedings were carried out under tough security measures.

The court decided to defer the trial to May 30 after the prosecutors requested additional time to gather required documents.

Malaysian authorities say 45-year-old Kim Jong-nam died after the two women smeared his face with the banned VX nerve agent at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. The two, however, say they were duped into thinking they were playing a harmless prank and not a murder.

Four North Koreans, identified by Malaysian authorities as other suspects in the case, allegedly flew back to Pyongyang on the day of the murder. Three other North Koreans initially sought by Malaysian police stayed inside the North’s Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in an attempt to avoid questioning until late March. They were allowed to fly home along with the body of the victim after an agreement between Malaysia and North Korea but were apparently questioned before leaving.

Referring to the trio, Aishah’s lawyer Gooi Soon-seng told reporters outside the courthouse on Thursday that, “We’ve lost an opportunity to cross-examine them... There should be no trial by ambush.” Gooi said one of the three individuals had been a key witness and claimed that his return to the North had “compromised” the defense.

Malaysian authorities, however, said that they had found no grounds to hold the three after questioning them.

The Thursday court session was expected to hear the prosecutors’ request that the two suspects be tried jointly in a higher court. The women’s lawyers, however, protested that Malaysian police had not offered security camera footage and documents vital to the defense so far.

If convicted, both women could be facing death penalties.

The killing triggered a bitter row between Malaysia and North Korea, which have expelled each other’s ambassadors over the controversial case.

Officials from the United States and South Korea have alleged that the murder was orchestrated by North Korea. Pyongyang has categorically rejected the allegation.

Malaysia has not directly accused Pyongyang of masterminding the murder.

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