A frenzy of activity in sleepy Salak Tinggi

In the spotlight: Siti’s lawyer Gooi Soon Seng arriving at the court complex.

SEPANG: The typically dull and quiet Sepang Court Complex nestled in a corner of Salak Tinggi burst into a flurry of activity rarely seen as the world’s media descended upon its gates for the charging of two female suspects held in connection with the murder of Kim Jong-nam.

Local and foreign journalists were at the entrance of the court complex well before dawn as the building and surrounding areas were placed under tight security.

Police cordoned off large sections of the court premises with yellow tape while the front gate remained closed to media personnel who were asked to wait in line to obtain passes to enter the courthouse.

Some 200 policemen were on duty to maintain security, including traffic personnel who were seen directing traffic around the area.

Beginning 7.30am, special passes were issued to media members to enter the court premises while a different set of limited passes were issued for those covering the courtroom proceedings – with only one individual allowed from each news organisation.

Those covering the court proceedings were, however, asked to surrender their gadgets, including mobile phones, laptops and voice recorders. Their bags were also searched before they were allowed in.

It is understood that three pressmen from each news organisation among hundreds of waiting media personnel were allowed in, while dozens of others had to camp outside the courthouse.

Court staff and lawyers who showed up for other scheduled cases were also asked to park their vehicles outside and to register before entering.

At about 9.30am, the blaring of sirens could be heard in the distance, signalling the arrival of the suspects.

The suspects, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, arrived in separate convoys about 10 minutes apart.

The women, who were called “female assassins” when news first broke about the murder, were escorted by a convoy of armed police personnel, including from the Special Task Force on Organised Crime (Stafoc) as they arrived at the Sepang Court Complex.

The first convoy of at least seven police vehicles and several outriders, including several heavily-tinted black four-wheel-drives arrived at about 9.30am and hurried into the court complex via the second entrance, much to the surprise of media personnel who had been lying in wait at the main entrance.

The throw-off tactic by the police convoys left media members scrambling for visuals and pictures.

They were a little more prepared when the second convoy arrived around 9.40am, but were blocked from approaching the vehicles by a human barricade created by the police.

The vehicles were then seen parked by the side of the court complex, and the suspects were discreetly escorted out and kept shielded from view by police personnel before disappearing into the building.

The charging of both suspects took minutes and at 10.30am, the earlier convoys were seen racing out of the building in a similar hurried fashion, believed to be transporting the suspects to the Kajang prison, where they are to be held until their next court appointment in April.

Several other vehicles believed to be transporting consular officials from the Indonesian and Vietnamese embassies, were earlier spotted entering and leaving the building.

They were there to provide consular support to Doan and Siti respectively, including lawyers to defend the women.