Malaysian prosecutor has announced that two women arrested over the assassination of the half-brother to the North Korean leader will be charged with murder.
The two women, one hailing from Vietnam and the other Indonesia, are likely to face a death penalty if convicted, said Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali, reports Reuters.
The two are alleged to have smeared the toxic VX chemical on the deceased, leading to his death within seconds.
In their defense, they said that they thought the whole incident was a TV prank and that one of them was paid $90 for the act.
The attorney general said that “they will be charged in court under Section 302 of the penal code.” This is a murder charge that mandates death sentence once the accused is found guilty.
The officials are yet to decide on what action to take against the other suspect – Ri Jong Chol, a North Korean man also arrested over the assassination.
The 28-year-old Doan Thi Huong and 25-year-old Siti Aisyah are part of the 10 suspects that the Malaysian officials have identified to have likely contributed to the killing.
South Korea holds that at four of the 10 suspects are North Korean spies. A senior official at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and a staff member of the state airline have been named in the investigation.
Getting most of the suspects may involve detailed diplomatic engagement as most of them are believed to have left Malaysia soon after the killing. But the investigating officers believe that the embassy and airline officials are hidden inside Pyongyang embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
North Korea Concern over Kim Jong-nam Death
North Korea sent high level delegates to the Malaysian capital where they are set to be briefed on the happenings.
Local media stations reported that they came to retrieve the body and seek the release of the North Korean suspect as they advance the relationship between the two countries.
The North has confirmed that indeed the man killed is Kim Jong-nam, the estranged brother of North Korea’s leader.
The 42-year-old was accosted while at a check en-route to Macau where he lives.
The banned nerve agent VX he was smeared with caused him a painful death within 15 to 20 minutes is reported by the health ministry.
Most analysts have speculated that North Korea might have had a hand in the murder as he was seen a stand-in leader in the event the North Korean leader is ousted. But Kim Jong-an’s administration has denied the allegations.
