April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Malaysian authorities said on Feb. 16 they had detained an Indonesian woman and a Malaysian man in connection with the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, one day after arresting a woman with a Vietnamese passport.

The second woman, 25-year-old Siti Aishah, was alone and carrying an Indonesian passport when captured by the authorities. Khalid Abu Bakar, Malaysia’s inspector general of police, said in a statement that they had “positively identified” her from CCTV footage at the airport. The man is believed to be Aishah’s boyfriend, local media reported.

Aishah appeared at the court early Feb. 16 along with the first woman, 28-year-old Doan Thi Huong, who was arrested on Feb. 15 after the release of CCTV images showing a woman matching her description.

They were given seven days in detention in line with the request of a regional district headquarters.

Kim Jong-nam, 46, is believed to have been killed with poison spray by two female secret operatives while trying to check in for a flight to Macau at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday morning. He was pronounced dead on his way to a hospital.

An autopsy was carried out late Feb. 15 and the results are expected to be released later this week.

Authorities said there are at least three more men involved in the attack. Selangor state police chief Abdul Samah Mat told AFP that they are “looking for more suspects,” but declined to say how many were being sought after or their nationalities.

But controversy erupted after Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Feb. 16 the country will return the body in line with Pyongyang’s request.

The Kim Jong-un regime has reportedly sent senior officials to Kuala Lumpur. North Korean officials were spotted visiting the hospital’s forensics department in diplomatic vehicles, demanding the body be released without a postmortem examination and then attending the autopsy.

“We will facilitate the request by any foreign government although there are procedures to be followed. Our policy is that we have to honor our bilateral relations with any foreign country,” the deputy premier told reporters after a meeting with business leaders.

By Shin Hyon-hee/The Korea Herald (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)