Second accused in Kim Jong-nam murder freed

Kuala Lumpur, May 3 (IANS) A Vietnamese woman, who was the second accused in the 2017 assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was freed from a Malaysian prison on Friday.

Doan Thi Huong's release came after she accepted a deal with Malaysian prosecutors last month and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of "causing injury".

"I met Doan yesterday (Thursday) at the prison to give her new clothes and a pair of shoes," Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, one of her lawyers, told BBC.

"She was obviously very happy to be released and looks forward to being reunited with her family."

According to a CNN report, after her release, Doan Thi Huong left for the immigration department, where she is expected to be processed before returning home to Vietnam later on Friday.

Her co-defendant Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian national, was freed in March after charges against her were dropped. The prosecution did not provide a reason for the decision.

Kim Jong-nam had been waiting to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau on February 13, 2017 when the two women approached him in the departure area.

CCTV footage showed one of them placing her hands over his face, then both women leaving the scene.

Kim Jong-nam died on the way to hospital from what was later found to be exposure to the nerve agent VX, one of the most toxic of all known chemical agents.

North Korea has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing, but four men - believed to be North Koreans who fled Malaysia on the day of the murder - have also been charged in the case.

They remain at large despite an Interpol "red notice".

With Doan Thi Huong heading home, it is likely no one will ever be convicted of murder for using one of the world's deadliest chemical weapons to stage a brazen assassination in broad daylight.