Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong is taken to court (Source: VNA)
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Shah Alam High Court of Malaysia announced on July 28 that the trial of Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian citizen Siti Aisyah, the suspects in the murder of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) citizen Kim Chol, will last for 23 days, till the end of this November.
The announcement was made after the first trial of the Shah Alam High Court concluded.
Judge Azmi Ariffin who chaired the trial said the next hearings will be from October 2-5, 9-10, 24-26, and November 6-9, 13-16, and 27-30, adding that defendants could enter their plea from the October 2 hearing.
As scheduled, the court will summon 30 witnesses and 10 specialists to the hearings.
On July 28, the two suspects wore bullet-proof coats and were taken to the court under tight protection of security forces.
Under the direction of Viet Nam’s Foreign Ministry, the embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia will continue working closely with Vietnamese agencies concerned and Malaysian lawyers defending Huong to ensure the trial is fair and objective and Huong’s legitimate interests are protected.
Kim Chol, as named in his passport, died at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. Malaysia said he was poisoned, but the DPRK insisted that he died of a heart attack, plus high blood pressure and diabetes.
At the court hearing on March 1, the two women were charged with murder but they denied and said that they were cheated to take part in an innocuous prank.
According to the Malaysian law, they would face the death penalty if found guilty.-VNA