BANDUNG: North Korea is urged to respect the sovereignty of Malaysian laws in the investigation of the death of that country leader’s elder half-brother Kim Jong-Nam in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government of North Korea must do so and not question the credibility of the investigation conducted by the Royal Malaysian Police.
“We respect the culture and rights of a person and at the same time we adhere to the practice of diplomacy and international diplomatic process.
“The laws of a country must be respected and this is practised by Malaysia and we also respect the laws of other countries if it is found that Malaysians are involved in criminal activities and committed crimes relating to the laws of that country,” he told Malaysian journalists here yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid is in Bandung to attend the fifth Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (IBRAF) here yesterday.
On Feb 13, Jong-nam was at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) at about 8am, waiting for his flight to Macau, when a woman suddenly covered his face with a cloth laced with poison.
He sought help at a customer service counter and was rushed to the Putrajaya Hospital but died on the way.
Jong-nam, who is the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had come to Malaysia on Feb 6 and carried a passport with the name of Kim Chol.
Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia did not have hidden agenda with any foreigners or neighbouring countries as Malaysian
police had also requested the cooperation of Interpol police on the case.
“We leave it to the police and if there is evidence, these interogated will be brought to court,” he said.
Malaysian police are to apply for extension of remand of three suspects – two foreign women and one North Korean man – today while the boyfriend of one of the female suspects was released on police bail.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said the Malaysian police and Inspector-General of Police were addressing the issue (Jong-nam’s death) due to propaganda that seemed to allege Malaysia or other countries were involved with the murder case.
He said police was also cooperating with experts to see that materials or chemical evidence from the post mortem would be adduced in court to prosecute the accused in the case.
The deputy prime minister said Malaysia was confident other countries were also practising a similar legal and trial system and respected any differences in opinion. — Bernama