Kim Jong Nam murder trial: Malaysian court told police had insufficient info on four accused

Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, who are on trial for the killing of Kim Jong Nam, are escorted as they revisit the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 in Sepang, Malaysia on Oct 24, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

SHAH ALAM (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The four men charged together with Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong over the murder of North Korean Kim Jong Nam have not been arrested as police do not have sufficient information on them, a Malaysian court heard on Wednesday (Oct 25).

Investigating officer Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz testified at the High Court on Wednesday that the police only had the men's pseudonyms from its investigation.

The four men are known as Mr Chang, Mr Y, James and Hanamori.

"We do not have their identification details such as passport numbers or handphone numbers," he told the court.

He told Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin that police have issued an order and application for help to the police headquarters' Special Branch and Interpol respectively in an effort to trace the four suspects.

Court documents had described the four men as being "at large" and they had been listed in the charge sheet as having the common intention to murder Kim.

The four are charged together with Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan of killing Kim, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 departure hall at about 9am on Feb 13.

Doan and Siti are accused of killing Kim by smearing the lethal nerve agent VX on his face as he waited for his flight to Macau.

Malaysia had issued an Interpol red alert in March for four North Korean men involved in Kim's murder.

Kim had arrived in Malaysia on Feb 6, and was at the airport to board a 9am flight to Macau when he was killed.

Both women have pleaded not guilty, and claimed that they were tricked into carrying out the attack, which they thought was a prank for a reality TV show.

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