SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (AP) – The Latest on the trial in Malaysia of two women accused of killing estranged North Korean scion Kim Jong Nam (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
A chemist has testified in a Malaysian court that he found traces of VX nerve agent and its precursors on the clothing of the Vietnamese suspect in the murder of the half brother of North Korea’s leader.
Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, left, is escorted by police as she arrives for court hearing at Shah Alam court house in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Doan and Siti Aisyah of Indonesia have pleaded not guilty to killing Kim Jong Nam on Feb. 13 at a crowded Kuala Lumpur airport terminal. They are accused of wiping VX on Kim’s face in an assassination widely thought to have been orchestrated by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Sadiq Asyraf)
His testimony has now linked VX to both women accused of smearing Kim Jong Nam’s face with poison in a brazen assassination at the Kuala Lumpur airport in February. The chemist said earlier Thursday he found degraded VX on Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah’s clothing and other witnesses have said Kim died of acute VX poisoning.
Chemist Raja Subramaniam said he found VX in its pure form and VX precursors on Doan Thi Huong’s jumper, which was seen in airport video emblazoned with the word LOL on the front. The chemist also told the court he found degraded VX on cuts of Huong’s fingernails.
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10:30 a.m.
A chemist says he found a byproduct of VX nerve agent on the shirt of the Indonesian woman on trial in Malaysia for the murder of the half brother of North Korea’s leader.
The testimony Thursday was the first evidence linking VX to either of the two suspects. Previous witnesses have testified the nerve agent was found on Kim Jong Nam’s body and belongings and have identified acute VX poisoning as the cause of Kim’s death.
Government chemist Raja Subramaniam told the court he found VX acid, a byproduct of the banned chemical weapon, on Siti Aisyah’s sleeveless T-shirt.
Raja said VX will degrade when it reacts with water, leaving detectable byproducts, and a person can fully decontaminate their hands by washing and scrubbing.
Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, center, is escorted by police as she leaves after the court hearing at Shah Alam court house in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Malaysia. A judge and court officials wore face masks and surgical gloves in court as samples were admitted as evidence of where VX nerve agent was found on the body and clothing of estranged North Korean scion Kim Jong Nam. On the third day of the murder trial of the two suspects, a pathologist said VX was detected in Kim’s eye mucus, on his face, in his blood and on his clothing.(AP Photo/Sadiq Asyraf)
Indonesian Siti Aisyah, right, is escorted by police as she leaves after the court hearing at Shah Alam court house in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Malaysia. A judge and court officials wore face masks and surgical gloves in court as samples were admitted as evidence of where VX nerve agent was found on the body and clothing of estranged North Korean scion Kim Jong Nam. On the third day of the murder trial of the two suspects, a pathologist said VX was detected in Kim’s eye mucus, on his face, in his blood and on his clothing.(AP Photo/Sadiq Asyraf)
Indonesian Siti Aisyah, center, is escorted by police as she arrives for court hearing at Shah Alam court house in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam have pleaded not guilty to killing Kim Jong Nam on Feb. 13 at a crowded Kuala Lumpur airport terminal. They are accused of wiping VX on Kim’s face in an assassination widely thought to have been orchestrated by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Sadiq Asyraf)
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