Kim Jong-nam: Malaysia detains second female suspect in connection with murder
Updated
.jpg/8276590 "Kim Jong-nam")
Malaysian police have arrested a second woman in connection with the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Key points:
- Two women identified on CCTV arrested over murder of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur airport
- A suspect arrested on Wednesday carried Vietnamese travel documents, while the second suspect held an Indonesian passport
- Police say they are looking for more foreign suspects over the killing
Police said in a statement the woman was identified through CCTV footage and was carrying an Indonesian passport when she was arrested at 2am local time (4am AEDT).
On Wednesday police detained a woman holding Vietnam travel papers and said they were looking for a "few" other foreign suspects in connection with the apparent assassination.
Mr Jong-nam, 46, was assassinated at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, telling medical workers before he died that he was attacked with a chemical spray, a Malaysian official said.
He was targeted in the shopping concourse at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and had not gone through immigration yet for his flight to Macau, said a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A Malaysian government source confirmed to Reuters that the first suspect arrested was the same woman whose image was captured by close circuit television footage and published by media.
The grainy picture showed her wearing a white shirt with the letters "LOL" on the front.
Police said she was alone when she was picked up, and held travel documents in the name of Doan Thi Huong showing a birth date of May 1988 and birthplace of Nam Dinh, Vietnam
She is due to face court in Kuala Lumpur today.
Hunt on for other suspects in killing
"Police are looking for a few others, all foreigners," Deputy Inspector-General Noor Rashid Ibrahim told Reuters, declining to give their nationalities or gender.
There has been no mention of Kim Jong-nam's death in North Korean state media and at midnight, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark the birthday of his father, the late leader Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011.
South Korea's intelligence agency told lawmakers in Seoul the young and unpredictable North Korean leader had issued a "standing order" for his elder half-brother's assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.
"The cause of death is strongly suspected to be a poisoning attack," said South Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-kee, who was briefed by the spy agency.
Malaysian authorities rebuffed North Korean officials' efforts to stop an autopsy being carried out on Kim Jong-nam, three Malaysian government sources told Reuters.
Reuters
Topics: murder-and-manslaughter, crime, world-politics, korea-democratic-people-s-republic-of, korea-republic-of, malaysia
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