New Bar president: AG must explain inconsistency in Jong-Nam murder accused

Newly minted Malaysian Bar president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor wants Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to explain the different treatment given to the two women accused of murdering Kim Jong-Nam.

This is as Indonesian Siti Aisyah was acquitted, while Doan Thi Huong is still facing trial.

"The Malaysian Bar would definitely most welcome a response from the attorney-general.

“Of course he’s not obliged to do so, but taking into consideration the case and the international attention that it’s attracted, so it will be good if the attorney-general can come up with an explanation for this decision,” Fareed was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.

“I am sure the family of the deceased also interested to know why one was let off, and also the family of Doan would like to know why she’s still in the dock to answer the charge" he added.

He noted, however, that the attorney general had the discretion on whether someone should be charged.

Siti Aisyah was jointly charged with Doan and four others over the murder of Jong-Nam, who is the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

The incident took place in 2017 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2). The High Court had ordered both accused to enter their defence last August.

According to Thomas, charges against Siti Aisyah were dropped following a request by the Indonesian government.

However, a similar attempt by Vietnam to have charges against Doan dropped was unsuccessful.

This has attracted criticisms from lawyer and lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh, who argued that since Siti Aisyah and Doan were charged together, they should be treated the same.