AG asked why charges against Viet not dropped

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly elected Malaysian Bar president Datuk Ab­dul Fareed Abdul Gafoor says it would be better if the Attorney General provides an explanation on why murder charges against Vietna­mese Doan Thi Huong were not dropped.

He said while the AG was not obliged to give an explanation, it would be better if he does so as the case is a high-profile one.

“The discretion to charge or not to charge a person lies with the AG. That has been done on many occasions.

“(However) The acquittal of the Indonesian lady was done after the prosecution and defence were called and this is unusual,” he said after the council’s 73rd annual general meeting here yesterday.

Besides Abdul Fareed, other newly elected office bearers include vice-president Roger Chan, secretary Salim Bashir Bhaskaran and treasurer Surindar Singh.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 27, and Doan, 30, were charged with four others still at large over the murder of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the KLIA2 departure hall at 9am on Feb 13, 2017.

On Monday, the Shah Alam High Court 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.