AG Tommy Thomas stays mum on Siti Aisyah's release

Attorney General Tommy Thomas

PUTRAJAYA: Attorney General Tommy Thomas is keeping mum on the release of Indonesian Siti Aisyah, who was implicated in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.  

To a question from the press on the recent development in the murder case that has grabbed international headlines, Thomas replied “no comment” before rushing off.  

Earlier on Tuesday (March 12), he was submitting in a hearing at the Court of Appeal on four appeals filed by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.  

The Shah Alam High Court on Monday (March 11) granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal to Siti Aisyah after the prosecution informed the court that it had been instructed to withdraw the charge.  

In a statement after Siti Aisyah's release, the Indonesian Embassy said that its President Joko Widodo had ordered efforts to secure her release immediately after she was arrested on Feb 15, 2017, two days after Jong-nam, 45, was murdered at KLIA 2.

According to documents shared by Indonesian officials with the press, Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly had written to Thomas to ask for help in the release of Siti Aisyah.

Yasonna asked the AG to consider several matters including that Siti Aisyah was deceived and not aware that she was being used as an intelligence tool by North Korea.

Thomas, in his reply, reportedly wrote that the prosecution would enter nolle prosequi against Siti Aisyah pursuant to Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“By doing so, the prosecution will request the court to order a discharge not amounting to an acquittal against Siti Aisyah,” he reportedly said.

On Aug 16, 2018, the court ordered Siti Aisyah and 29-year-old Vietnamese woman, Doan Thi Huong, to enter their defence on the murder charge.

They were charged with four others still at large with Jong-nam's murder at the departure hall of KLIA2 at 9am on Feb 13, 2017.

The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.