SHAH ALAM, Feb 27 — The defence team of one of Kim Jong-nam’s accused killers, Siti Aisyah, highlighted today weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.
Among them were the sketch plan prepared by the prosecution that Siti’s lawyer said could not conclusively trace the young woman’s movements immediately after the attack.
Siti’s defence also posed questions about the handling of evidence and US$138,000 (RM 539,750) in cash which was not returned to North Korea with the body of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
In his cross examination of investigating officer Asst Supt Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz, Siti’s lawyer Gooi Soon Seng demonstrated that the prosecution’s sketch plan could not trace her movements immediately after allegedly smearing Kim’s face with VX nerve agent, a fatal toxin.
In playing several clips of CCTV footage used by the prosecution to draw a sketch plan of her movements, Wan Azirul was unable to mark out the path Siti took on her way out of the KLIA 2 airport.
“Do you agree that my client is not clearly visible?” Gooi asked as Wan Azirul attempted to mark out Siti’s progress through the building, to which the latter answered “Yes”.
The clips only showed fleeting glimpses and rather than trace a consistent path, simply showed the accused appearing at several locations around the airport after the supposed attack.
Gooi said the inability to trace the Indonesian national’s movements had raised doubts on how the sketch had been prepared in the first place.
“We cannot assume what her movements were. What we know is that she appeared at various parts of the airport.”
In reviewing the footage of the supposed attack, Gooi pointed out that Siti could not be seen at any point making physical contact with Kim. The lawyer asked Wan Azirul to point out the exact instance, to which the policeman insisted the contact had occurred behind cover.
“It happened. It is not clear but it definitely happened.”
Wan Azirul had previously admitted that the only video evidence of any physical contact had been between Kim and Siti’s co-defendant Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman.
The cash was found in a backpack that Kim had at the time of his death. Gooi asked why this was not returned with his body and other personal items.
“The money is in some way connected to the murder and why it was not returned along with the body?” Gooi posed to Wan Azirul, who said he “Did not agree” that there was any link.
Additionally a pair of Ray-Ban glasses and a pouch bearing the same brand which had been reported as being seized during Siti’s arrest at the Flamingo Hotel in Ampang on Feb 16 could not be accounted for.
Gooi said the glasses and pouch, which had been mentioned in handover documents, had been passed onto Wan Azirul, who said he had kept the items, and other evidence, at his office before handing them to the Chemistry Department.
“There is no mention of them as having been tested by the chemistry department and was not handed over to the court as evidence.”
The 46-year old Kim, who was carrying a North Korean passport bearing the name Kim Chol when he died, was the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He had been living in exile since a falling out with the North’s ruling family.
Both Siti and Huong face death by hanging if convicted for murder. Both have pleaded not guilty.
But Malaysian police say the two women had been trained to carry out the assassination since they immediately headed to the toilet to wash their hands after attacking Kim.
