AG: N. Korean suspect in Jong-nam murder to be deported

PETALING JAYA: The North Korean suspect arrested in connection with the murder of Kim Jong-nam will be deported on Friday.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali (pic) confirmed that Ri Jong-chol, who was detained on Feb 18, would be released from police custody after his second remand expires, and deported.

“He will not be charged here as there is insufficient evidence against him,” Apandi told The Star Online when contacted Thursday.

He also said that Ri, who was detained at his condominium in Jalan Kuchai Lama, would need to be deported as he does not possess valid documents.

Ri, described as an expert in chemistry, was supposedly working at the IT department of Tombo Enterprise Sdn Bhd, a company producing anti-cancer supplements in Cheras.

He graduated in the science and medicine field from a university in North Korea in 2000. Some 10 years later he worked for a research centre in Kolkata, India, until 2011.

Ri allegedly drove one of four North Korean men who are believed to be the masterminds behind Jong-nam’s murder.

The four – Ri Ji-hyon, 33, Hong Song-hac, 34, O Jong-gil, 55 and Ri Jae-nam – are still being hunted by police for reportedly orchestrating the attack on Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

However, the four men are believed to have fled Malaysia and returned to Pyongyang soon after the murder at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) departure hall on Feb 13.

The two women who allegedly administered the deadly VX nerve agent that killed Jong-nam, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, were charged with murder at the Sepang magistrate’s court on Wednesday.