Trial of Vietnamese suspect in DPRK citizen’s death continues

The Shah Alam High Court of Selangor State of Malaysia continued on April 2, 3 and 5 the trial of Doan Thi Huong, one of the two suspects in the death of a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) citizen in early 2017.

Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong is led to the court in Shah Alam on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur on January 22 (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong is led to the court in Shah Alam on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur on January 22 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia said the court listened to arguments between lawyers defending Doan Thi Huong and prosecution and investigation agencies and chemistry experts.

The hearing focused on some issues relating to Huong’s passport in her trip to the Republic of Korea, regulations on the collection, analysis and storage of the case’ chemicals, and prosecutors’ approval of the list of 34 prosecution witnesses among the 129 existing witnesses.

Representatives of the embassy and Malaysian lawyers attended the hearing to protect rights and legitimate interests of Huong.

The next hearing is scheduled to take place from June 27 to 29.

The embassy noted it will keep close coordination with lawyers and relevant agencies to protect Huong’s rights and legitimate interests.

Huong and the other suspect, Siti Aisyah – an Indonesian citizen, were arrested one day after the murder of DPRK national Kim Chol on February 13, 2017. So far, both of them have continued affirming that they are innocent as they thought they were joining a harmless prank for a reality TV show.