Murder was well-planned and rehearsed
Published on: Thursday, February 23, 2017
Kuala Lumpur: Two women arrested over the killing of the North Korean leader's half-brother in Kuala Lumpur knew they were taking part in a poison attack, Inspector-general of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said after reports they believed it was a prank."Yes, of course they knew," Khalid Abu Bakar said when asked by a reporter if the women knew they were carrying a toxic substance when they approached Kim Jong-Nam, the sibling of Kim Jong-Un."I think you have seen the video, right? The lady was moving away with her hands towards the bathroom.
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She was very aware that it was toxic and that she needed to wash her hands." Indonesian police had said one of the suspects had been duped into believing she was taking part in a TV prank show.Malaysian investigators want to question a North Korean diplomat over the assassination of Kim Jong-Un's half-brother in Kuala Lumpur, said Khalid.Police have put five North Koreans in the frame for last week's killing of Kim Jong-Nam at the city's international airport and have said they are seeking three more for questioning.Among the wanted are the second secretary at Pyongyang's embassy in Kuala Lumpur and a North Korean airline employee, Khalid told reporters.
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"We have written to the ambassador to allow us to interview both of them. We hope that the Korean embassy will cooperate with us and allow us to interview them quickly. If not, we will compel them to come to us," he said.Khalid said police believed five North Koreans were "heavily involved" in the murder. Four of the men fled the country on the day of the killing while one remains in custody in Malaysia.
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The police chief said two women also arrested over the murder were aware they were taking part in a poison attack, after reports they believed it was a prank."Yes, of course they knew," Khalid said when asked by a reporter if the women knew they were carrying a toxic substance when they approached Jong-Nam."I think you have seen the video, right? The lady was moving away with her hands towards the bathroom. She was very aware that it was toxic and that she needed to wash her hands."He said Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong, 28, and Indonesian Siti Aishah, 25, had been trained to swab the man's face, practising the exercise in Kuala Lumpur for the attack at the airport.Indonesian police had said one of the suspects had been duped into believing she was taking part in a candid camera TV show. Meanwhile, initial Malaysian police investigations revealed that the murder could have been planned with a series of rehearsals carried out in advance.Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the two women detained in connection with the killing were said to have been involved in a number of rehearsals at shopping malls and a convention centre here, before executing the deadly task on Jong-nam."From our investigations, we now know that they did rehearse the scenario... before finally (executing the task) on the deceased," he told a press conference.The two women, Vietnamese passport holder Doan Thi Huong, 28, and Indonesian Siti Aishah, 25, have been remanded to facilitate police investigations."They knew it was a toxic substance to kill Jong-nam. At first, Siti Aishah approached the deceased and (allegedly) wiped his face with the toxic and this was followed by the Vietnamese suspect."The two suspects then went straight to the toilet to clean their hands immediately after the attack. They knew it was toxic."We strongly believe it (the murder) was planned and they (the two women) were trained to execute it...there is no way they did not know (it was poisonous or was a prank)," said Khalid.Jong-nam was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) near here on Feb 13, while waiting for his flight to Macau when he was attacked by two women who wiped his face with a poison-laced cloth. He reportedly died on the way to the Putrajaya Hospital.Khalid explained that the four North Korean suspects, who fled to Pyongyang at that point, were believed to have sprayed toxic liquid into the hands of two women before the murder occurred.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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