SHAH ALAM: The trial of two women charged with murdering North Korean Kim Jong-nam – an incident which made international headlines – begins today.
Scores of local and foreign journalists began gathering outside the Shah Alam Courts Complex here as early as 5am for the much-anticipated proceedings which are scheduled to start at 9am.
However, only the representatives of 10 local media outlets and 10 foreign news agencies will be allowed inside the courtroom.
The accused, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25 and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, arrived at 8am.
On March 1, the duo was charged at the Sepang magistrate’s court – along with four others who are still at large – with murdering 45-year-old “Kim Chol”.
Kim Chol was later established to be Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The duo allegedly committed the offence at the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) at around 9am on Feb 13.
Their charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
It was reported that a highly toxic nerve agent known as ‘VX’ was utilised to kill Jong-nam.
VX is listed as a chemical weapon under Schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention Act 2005 and Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 1997.