Malaysia Pushes Trial Of Vietnamese Woman İn Kim Murder

Malaysia has refused to drop charges against a lone suspect in the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader, media reports said Thursday.



Malaysian prosecutor Mohamad Iskandar Ahmad told the Shah Alam High Court in Kuala Lumpur to proceed with the case against 30-year-old Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong, Kyodo news agency reported.



The go-ahead was given by the Malaysian attorney general, the court was informed.



The decision comes a few days after another accused 27-year-old Indonesian woman, Siti Aisyah, was released on Monday. She returned home and met the Indonesian president as well.



Huong's lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik expressed displeasure in front of the court: "We are clearly disappointed with the decision of the attorney general not to withdraw the charge against Doan Thi Huong."



Hisyam will appeal to the court for the Malaysian attorney general to reconsider his decision.



"The decision [is] perverse and does not speak well of our criminal justice system," he said.



Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had defended the decision to release the Indonesian woman.



Huong and Aisyah were accused and jailed on charges of poisoning Kim Jong-Nam at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13, 2017, with an internationally-prohibited toxic nerve agent classified as a chemical weapon.



The duo have denied the charges.



Huong's lawyer said the ruling had been marred by discrimination, complaining that the public prosecutor had not "acted fairly and justly" toward his client.



Malaysian judge Azmi Ariffin had made that ruling last August based on the testimony of 34 witnesses and airport security camera footage tendered by the prosecution.



He ordered the women to mount a defense against what he said was a "well-planned conspiracy" hatched with four North Korean suspects.



The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry tweeted last Tuesday that it "asked the Malaysian side to ensure fair judgement for Huong and to set her free," as part of a diplomatic push to secure Huong's release in the high-profile case. -