North Korean chemist was in anti-cancer business

KUALA LUMPUR: The North Ko­­­rean arrested by police on Friday was working for a company producing anti-cancer supplements in Cheras.

Ri Jong-chol, 47, had been working at Tombo Enterprise Sdn Bhd’s Information Technology Depart­ment.

According to the company website, it was established in 1976 and was appointed the sole distributor of a series of health products called Tian Xian Liquid.

Tian Xian, which roughly translates to “heavenly beings”, is marketed as an anti-cancer supplement, which contains ingredients such as ginseng, cordyceps and lingzhi mushrooms.

Attempts to contact the company here yielded an automated voice response which said: “Sorry, your call is restricted.”

Jong-chol was arrested over the assassination of Kim Jong-nam after police raided a condominium in Jalan Kuchai Lama.

He is from Pyongyang and gradua­­ted in science and medicine from a university in North Korea in 2000.

Some 10 years later, he was involved in research at a centre in Kolkata, India, until 2011.