Malaysian court rejects acquittal appeal of Vietnamese suspect in Kim Jong-nam murder
Malaysia’s attorney general on Thursday rejected an appeal to drop murder charges against a Vietnamese woman standing trial for the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s estranged half-brother.
The ruling to proceed with her high-profile trial delivered a crushing blow to Doan Thi Huong, 30, who watched her Indonesian co-defendant, Siti Aisyah, walk free from the same Malaysian court and return home to her family on Monday.
A distraught Ms Doan broke down in tears in the dock as the decision was announced. "I am not angry that Siti has been freed. Only God knows that we did not commit the murder," she said. "I want my family to pray for me."
The ruling leaves Ms Doan, who arrived with armed guards at the Shah Alam court shortly before 9am and wearing a bulletproof vest, as the sole suspect in the case still behind bars.
The legal teams of both women have argued that they were pawns in the audacious assassination of Kim Jong-nam, 45, that was orchestrated behind-the-scenes by North Korean agents.
Pyongyang, said to have viewed Kim as a political threat, has officially denied any involvement in his murder and four North Korean suspects remain at large.
Ms Doan and Ms Aisyah have always maintained they were duped into believing that they were taking part in a reality television prank show when they smeared lethal VX agent on Kim’s face at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport in February 2017.
Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Ms Doan’s lawyer, who lodged an appeal for Ms Doan’s “full acquittal” earlier this week with Tommy Thomas, the attorney general, accused him of not acting fairly.
"The decision not to withdraw does not sit well with our criminal justice system. There is discrimination as the prosecution favours one party to the other," he said.
The trial was adjourned until April 1. Speaking to reporters outside the court, he said that the unexpected twist in the case this week had left her “not prepared mentally and physically to testify.”
He added: “This morning we saw the condition of Doan, terribly upset, depressed, she didn’t sleep well for the last three nights. She slept only for one hour per night and she’s not really herself.”
His client was “completely innocent” and had been made a “scapegoat,” argued Mr Hisyam.
“Her case is the same as that of Siti Aisyah, there are no differences, similarities all around. We ran the same defence that they have no knowledge, no intention to kill, they were scapegoats.”
The adjournment would also allow time for the Vietnamese government to appeal to its Malaysian counterpart, he said.
“We hope that the Vietnamese government, which we believe they are doing right now, put further pressure on the Malaysian government to ensure that there is equality,” he said.
Le Quy Quynh, the Vietnamese ambassador to Malaysia, who was present at the court, said he was “disappointed” by the decision. “We request Malaysia to have fair treatment to her and to release her as soon as possible,” he said.
No reason was given for Ms Aisyah’s sudden release, and no reason was given for Ms Doan’s ongoing detention, but the revelation that the young Indonesian woman was released after intense lobbying from Jakarta could prove diplomatically embarrassing for Hanoi if its own efforts are rejected.
Vietnam’s government made an unprecedented public request earlier this week for the acquittal of its citizen.
Pham Binh Binh, the foreign minister, called Saifuddin Abdullah, his Malaysian counterpart, to ask Malaysia to "ensure a fair trial and free Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong", the government said in a statement.
It confirmed that Le Thanh Long, Vietnam’s justice minister, had also made a similar written request to Mr Thomas, the attorney general.
The case has been politically charged since the news of Kim’s horrific, public death first broke.
In December, reports emerged that North Korean officials had informally expressed their regret to Hanoi about the involvement of a Vietnamese citizen in the bizarre murder mystery. The incident had chilled Pyongyang’s relations with both Vietnam and Malaysia.
Privately the Vietnamese authorities have provided legal aid for Ms Doan, and embassy officials had been on hand on Monday morning to provide her with “timely support,” the foreign ministry told The Telegraph.
“Throughout the trial process, the Embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia and relevant agencies have been closely following the case, actively taking measures to protect citizen Doan Thi Huong’s legitimate rights and interests in line with the law, ensuring that she receives fair trial,” it said in a statement.
