Probe by N. Korean agents illegal, says IGP (Updated)
KUALA LUMPUR: Any parallel investigation into the murder of Kim Jong-Nam by any party needs the clearance of the police or it will be deemed illegal, according to Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
He said any investigation that goes on in the country, whether they are by foreign agents or other legal authorities, needs the clearance of the police.
"If they want to investigate anyone for that matter, not only agents and spies, even legal authorities need our (police) clearance," he said.
When asked if it was illegal, Khalid said: "It is illegal because they are not empowered to question people nor look into documents,"
He said this in response to a report that North Korean agents are conducting their own parallel investigation in Malaysia into the incident after Malaysian police rejected their proposal for a joint probe into the murder.
Meanwhile, Khalid added that the police are fully aware that three suspects wanted by the police in connection with the murder are hiding inside the embassy's headquarters at Damansara.
"We are aware of the identities inside the embassy ... All we want is for them to surrender," he told a press conference after a handing over ceremony of a Kia Sorento for the police, courtesy of Naza Motors.
This comes after All-Nippon Network (ANN News) operated by Asahi TV, aired a one-minute video footage showing the suspect, resembling Kim Uk-il, playing snooker with several others on the second floor of the embassy building in Jalan Batai, Bukit Damansara.
Apart from Uk-il the police are also looking for other suspects including the embassy's second secretary, Kwang Hyon-song, 44, who is still 'hiding' at the embassy building, as well as Ri Ji-u, 30, also known as 'James', whom Khalid believes is also holed up in the embassy.
He also said that zero progress has been made on the Red Notice issued by Interpol to apprehend the four suspects in the assassination who had since fled back to Pyongyang.
Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was assassinated by two women assailants who wiped his face with the deadly VX nerve agent at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Feb 13.