Jong-Nam's murder trial resumes today from the first four witnesses

SHAH ALAM: The murder trial of Kim Jong-Nam kicked off today with testimonies from the first four witnesses that last saw the victim alive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 in Sepang.
The first witness was Lance Corporal Mohd Zulkarnain Sanudin who was stationed at KLIA2 during the Feb 13 incident.
"I was approached by a Malay lady, who works at the airport information counter and a 'plump man with a chubby face' whose race I was unable to tell seeking to lodge a police report.
"However, after asking him some details, he said he wanted to go to the clinic first," he told the court during the packed trial at the High Court.
As they headed to the clinic, Mohd Zulkarnain said Jong-Nam told him his vision was beginning to blur and he said, "Sir, walk slow, my eyes blur, I cannot see."
The victim received immediate treatment upon reaching the clinic.
Mohd Zulkarnain told the court he then headed to the Safety Operation Centre to report the matter before going back to the clinic to obtain the man's details.
"However, in my report, I wrote that he (Jong-Nam) was a South Korean citizen as I did not comprehend the meaning of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPR) (North Korea) written in his passport.
"I wrote down the details from the passport which I obtained from a nurse working at the counter," he added.
Questioned by defence counsel Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik on how he later learnt his mistake without being informed by others, Mohd Zulkarnain said he realised it after reviewing the police reports that he filed later.
The second witness, airport information counter staff Juliana Idris told the court that Jong-Nam used the word 'attacked' when the deceased met her at the KLIA2 information counter.
"I was unsure of the sentence that he used but I heard the word attack," she said.
Mohd Zulkarnain and Juliana are the first four among 153 witnesses expected to be called during the month-long trial.
The third and fourth witnesses who testified were KLIA2's Menara Clinic medical assistant Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohd Sofi and doctor, Dr Nik Mohd Adzrul Ariff Raja Azlan regarding Jong-nam's treatment and condition upon arriving at the clinic.
Earlier, both Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 29, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25 had pleaded not guilty when the charges were first read out to them by the court interpreter.
However, counsel Gooi Soon Seng and Hisyam applied to the court to compel the prosecution to name the four others contained within the charge sheet.
Following a short recess, High Court Datuk Azmi Ariffin rejected the application.
Presenting his opening statement, deputy public prosecutor Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad said the prosecution team will aim to prove that both women were involved in a "prank exercise" with four others who were unidentified resulting in the death of Jong-Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
"The four individuals supervised the alleged act committed by both women who used the highly toxic chemical, classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations to kill Jong-Nam.
"This shows a common intention and motive between the women and the four individuals," he said.
Muhamad Iskandar said his team would provide evidence that the duo had approached the victim at the KLIA2 and wiped the poison on his eyes and face.
"The prosecution will rely on direct, circumstantial, scientific and documented evidence provided by specialists and several other related evidence that will be produced before the court to link the accused and the four others with the death of Jong-nam," he said.
Amidst tight security, Doan and Siti Aisyah arrived at the court complex at 8am, alighting from the police vehicle wearing bulletproof vests.
Doan was dressed in a blue top while Siti wore a Batik-pattern baju kurung to the trial.
Siti and Doan along with four others still at large, were charged with the murder of Kim Chol, 45, at the KLIA2 departure hall at 9am on Feb 13 this year.
It was reported that Jong-nam was at KLIA2 on Feb 13 to board a flight to Macau when two women approached and suddenly wiped his face with toxic liquid which was later identified as the VX nerve agent.
Jong-nam, who traveled with a passport bearing the name of Kim Chol, died while on the way to the Putrajaya Hospital.
He arrived in the country on Feb 6.
The murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.