Indonesian national Siti Aisyah (centre) is escorted by police. — AFP photo
SEPANG: The trial of two foreign women accused of murdering Kim Chol or Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, will be heard at the Shah Alam High Court.
Sessions Court judge Harith Sham Mohamed Yasin, who sat as magistrate, allowed the prosecution’s application to transfer the case to the Shah Alam High Court.
Selangor prosecution director, Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad had requested the case be transferred to the High Court based on Section 177A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
Siti Aisyah, 25, of Indonesia, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from Vietnam, were charged with four others still at large, with the murder of Kim Chol, 45, at KL International Airport 2 (klia2) departure hall at 9am on Feb 13.
The duo, who looked calm, were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Their plea will be recorded when the case comes up for mention in the Shah Alam High Court since capital punishment comes under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
No date was fixed yesterday as it will be set later by the High Court.
Section 172B of CPC says that the trial shall commence not later than 90 days from the date of the plea recorded from the accused.
Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong (left) is escorted by police for a court appearance. — AFP photo
Earlier, lawyer Gooi Soon Seng who represented Siti Aisyah, told the court that the defence had yet to receive the CCTV recordings, the material documents and reports from the prosecution.
He said the defence had applied in writing to the prosecution and police, asking for the documents to be supplied to them.
“The failure to disclose material documents to the defence at the earliest opportunity will undermine the defence case in many ways, particularly in this case,” he said.
Muhamad Iskandar replied that the prosecution would supply the documents sought by the defence before the commencement of the trial or at least within three months.
“We are duty-bound to supply everything to the defence. I will supply everything in bulk. Let us compile the documents nicely and serve to the defence. I will personally give them before the commencement of the trial or at least within three months,” he said.
At yesterday’s proceeding, the North Korean embassy made its first appearance in court when it appointed lawyer Datuk Jagjit Singh to hold a watching brief in the case.
Officers from the Indonesian and Vietnamese embassies were also present in court.
It was reported that Jong-nam was at klia2 on Feb 13 to board a flight to Macau when two women approached and suddenly wiped his face with toxic liquid which was later identified as the VX nerve agent.
Jong-nam, who travelled with a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol, died while on the way to Putrajaya Hospital.
He came to Malaysia on Feb 6. — Bernama