PETALING JAYA: The eighth prosecution witness in the trial of two women accused of murdering Kim Jong-nam today asked the High Court to adjourn proceedings after complaining of exhaustion and feeling unwell.
Chemistry Department chemical analysis laboratory head Dr S. Raja had earlier completed an hour-long identification process on the clothes worn by the two women on the day of Jong-nam’s murder as well as nail clippings taken from one of them.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said after the process was completed, Dr Raja said he was feeling unwell and requested proceedings be adjourned to tomorrow.
He said the identification process was conducted in a secured glass chamber in the Chemistry Department headquarters here after two shirts, including the now-infamous white blouse with the letters “LOL” printed on it, and nail clippings taken from Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, were tendered to the court before judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin.
“All those inside the glass chamber were required to wear white hazmat (hazardous material) suits and respiratory masks as a precautionary measure.
“Only five people — Dr Raja, Doan, lawyer S. Selvi, and two policemen — were inside the chamber,” he said when contacted.
Court proceedings were held at the department headquarters today to allow for the process. There was a heavy, armed police presence as those involved arrived at 9am and left three hours later.
It is unclear what could have caused Dr Raja to feel unwell, though Selvi gave an inkling as to what could have happened.
Selvi, who represents the other accused, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, said she too felt “a little bit tired” as it was a hot and humid environment inside the glass chamber, especially with hazmat suits on.
“Dr Raja had opened up the envelop which contained the white shirts wrapped in plastic. I also feel a little bit exhausted after exiting the glass-chamber,” she said when met outside the department headquarters.
Lawyer Gooi Soon Seng, who is also representing Siti Aisyah, said his team would submit to court later that a vital piece of evidence — Jong-nam’s blazer — was missing as it had been sent back to North Korea along with the body of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s estranged half brother.
“We believed that the blazer (which was not tendered in court) is a vital piece of evidence as it (would have) contained a maximum concentration of VX (nerve agent, which was used to kill Jong-nam). We will submit this to the court during submissions,” he said.
Asked why Siti Aisyah was not present in the glass chamber, Gooi said it was not necessary.
Doan and Siti Aisyah were accused of killing one Kim Chol, a North Korean who was later identified as being Jong-nam. Jong-nam had been traveling under the alias Kim Chol.
They were charged on March 1 along with four others still at large.
Doan and Siti Aisyah were alleged to have attacked Kim Chol at klia2 at 9am on Feb 13 as he was about to check in for a flight to Macau, rubbing VX nerve agent on his face.
The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code, carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.