Next hearing of Doan Thi Huong set for October 2

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, until the end of this November.

Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong is taken to court (Source: VNA)
Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong is taken to court (Source: VNA)

The announcement was made after the first trial of the Shah Alam High Court was concluded.

Judge Azmi Ariffin, who chaired the trial, said that the next hearings will be from October 2-5, 9-10, 24-26 and November 6-9, 13-16 and 27-30, adding that the 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 jackets and were taken to the court under close protection of security forces.

Under the direction of Viet Nam's Foreign Ministry, the embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia will continue working closely with the Vietnamese agencies concerned and the Malaysian lawyers defending Huong, to ensure the trial is fair and objective and that Huong's legitimate interests are protected.

Kim Chol, as named in his passport, died at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. Malaysian officials claim he was poisoned, but the DPRK insist that he died of a heart attack, combined with high blood pressure and diabetes.

At the court hearing on March 1, the two women were charged with murder but they denied the charge and said that they were cheated into taking part in an innocuous prank.

According to Malaysian law, they would both face the death penalty if found guilty.