Trial of Indonesian accused of Kim Jong-nam murder on hold

SHAH ALAM (AFP): The trial of an Indonesian woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother was put on hold Tuesday (Dec 18) due to a row over witness statements, the latest delay in the case.

Siti Aisyah from Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam have been on trial for over a year, accused of murdering Kim Jong-nam (pic) by smearing nerve agent VX on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport.

The brazen assassination in February last year shocked the world but the women have denied murder, saying they believed they were taking part in a prank and were tricked by North Korean agents.

The women, in their 20s, went on trial together in October 2017 but proceedings have moved slowly due to the large numbers of witnesses and the fact hearings are held infrequently.

The defence stage of Aisyah’s trial had originally been due to begin in November but was delayed to January after her main lawyer fell ill. 

And on Tuesday proceedings in Aisyah’s case were temporarily halted when the High Court refused to grant her lawyers access to some witness statements, and they decided to appeal.

Huong’s trial is due to resume in March and the court will rule Friday (Dec 21) whether it will go ahead, or be put on hold with Aisyah’s.