SHAH ALAM: The High Court here yesterday fixed Aug 16 to decide on the case of Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong charged with the alleged murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader, Kim Chol or Kim Jong-nam.
Judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin fixed the date after hearing submissions from both prosecution and defence at the end of prosecution case.
The court will decide whether both the accused would have to enter their defence or they would be acquitted.
Siti Aisyah, 26, and Doan, 29, were charged with four others still at large with the murder of Kim Chol, 45, at the klia2 departure hall at 9 am on Feb 13 last year.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Earlier, the court heard that Siti Aisyah and Doan were trained killers as they had identified their target and they carefully planned and executed their mission.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said if it was a prank, there was no need to use criminal force to smear VX nerve agent against the deceased.
“The two accused want to ensure that the dangerous substance hits the right target that is the eyes and the face of Kim Chol.
“If they are not trained to target the exact and precise target, they won’t complete their mission,” he said in his submissions at the end of the prosecution case.
He added, they had attacked Kim Chol with a deadly substance which the probability of death was high and chances of survival were very low.
“The VX was found inside the eyes of Kim Chol and one would ask why of all the places on the human body, the two accused had targeted the eyes of Kim Chol? Why they did not just wipe the substance on the forearms or clothing worn by the victim?” Wan Shaharuddin raised in court.
He added that, Siti Aisyah and Doan knew the direct and deadly effect if the substance entered the eyes of Kim Chol.
“They also knew the eyes were the best route of entry and the deadly substance will have an efficient effect if it comes into contact with the eyes,” he said.
Wan Shaharuddin also described that the killing of Kim Chol was carefully planned and pre-meditated because they had in their possession the taxi ticket to have an easy getaway.
“As testified by the investigating officer, ASP Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz, near to the place of incident there are four toilets with big signage but both the accused chose to use the toilet at Level 2 which is nearer to the transportation hub which was easier for them to make quick getaway,” he said.
Explaining further, Wan Shaharuddin said Siti Aisyah and Doan knew what to do after smearing the substance and there was vast contrast in relation to their conduct after washing their hands.
“Looking at the bigger picture, this is not a normal murder case, anybody who had planned the killing need to have a trained killer. There is no room for failure. You can’t just pick two scapegoats from nowhere to execute the assassination. It is like we are watching a James Bond movie,” he added.
Wan Shaharuddin recalled the testimony given by the second witness that the two accused had attack directly the victim’s eyes and face.
“It was not just a mere rubbing to the face like applying lotion on a face,” he said, adding that Kim Chol had died of an acute VX nerve agent poisoning.
He said based on the evidences adduced, the prosecution had proven a prima facie case against the two accused.
“To know why VX poison was found on the finger clippings of Doan, why VX poison was found on both the accused clothes, why they need to attack Kim Chol when the were doing so called ‘prank’.
This court must order the two accused to enter their defence.
“If they remain silent, all the questions that are lingering in the court’s mind will remain unanswered,” he said. — Bernama