The two women accused in the Kim Jong-nam murder trial had to be taken around on wheelchairs at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 as they retraced their steps seen in CCTV footage of the alleged assassination.

The visit marked the ninth day of the trial of Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, who are jointly charged with four others still at large of killing the 45-year-old at the airport’s departure hall at about 9am on Feb 13.

The visit was made at the defence lawyers’ request so that they could identify the locations shown in the CCTV recording tendered as evidence by the prosecution.

And the wheelchairs? Simply because the accused were tired from all the walking, a defence lawyer said.

Besides the accused, all parties involved in the trial, including High Court judge Justice Azmi Ariffin, the prosecution and defence teams took part in the airport visit, which began at 9.50am yesterday.

The accused were seen clad in bulletproof vests and surrounded by more than 20 heavily armed police personnel.

It was learnt that over 200 police officers were deployed at KLIA2 for the duration of the visit.

Investigating officer ASP Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz, who was giving testimony regarding the CCTV footage, led the tour on three different routes. They followed the alleged paths taken by Doan, then Siti, and then Jong-nam, on the day of his death.

An hour into the visit, the group took a break to allow wheelchairs to be brought in for the accused.

Siti was seen sobbing, while Doan appeared exhausted.

The visit ended at 12.20pm, after which all parties returned to the airport police station for further instructions from the court.

Speaking to reporters after the visit, Siti's lawyer Gooi Soon Seng said: “Today's exercise was to see for ourselves the locations depicted in the CCTV footage.”

He added that the defence lawyers took note of the number of CCTV cameras and toilets around the airport.

DPP Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad confirmed that the three routes were taken because CCTV footage showed the three individuals taking different paths on the day of the incident.

Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, arrived in Malaysia on Feb 6, and was at KLIA2 to board a 9am flight to Macau when he was killed.

The trial continues today.

Source:
courtesy of THE STAR

by Qishin Tariq

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