Malaysia prosecutors offer lower charge for lone Kim Jong-nam suspect


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Huong is the only suspect in custody after the attorney-general’s’ stunning decision to drop the case against Indonesian Siti Aisyah on March 11 following high-level lobbying from Jakarta. Huong sought to be acquitted after Aisyah was freed, but prosecutors rejected her request.


The murder charge against each woman had alleged they colluded with four missing North Korean suspects to murder Kim Jong-nam. The women have said they thought they were taking part in a harmless prank for a TV show when they swiped their hands over his face with an oily substance identified as VX nerve agent. The four North Koreans fled the country the morning of February 13, 2017, after the two women had accosted Kim in a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal.


Siti Aisyah, left, smiles with her lawyer Gooi Soon Seng at a press conference after she was freed from custody last month.

Siti Aisyah, left, smiles with her lawyer Gooi Soon Seng at a press conference after she was freed from custody last month.Credit:AP


The High Court judge last August had found there was enough evidence to infer that Aisyah, Huong and the four missing North Koreans engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” to kill Kim and had called on the two women to present their defence.


Huong’s lawyers have accused Attorney-General Tommy Thomas of being unfair and discriminating against Huong. The Bar Council and some lawmakers have urged Thomas to be transparent and explain his decision, although he isn’t obliged to do so. Vietnam’s government has also voiced displeasure and urged Malaysia to be fair and release Huong.


Article source: http://smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/wattle-day-could-a-new-golden-australia-day-bloom-in-the-springtime-20170831-gy7qnk.html

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