In an interview with The Associated Press, the attorney for Siti Aisyah said the man who he believes recruited his client was allowed to leave Malaysia late last month, after the country struck a surprise deal with North Korea.
"(He) may not be implicated in the actual event of the murder, but his evidence is so important, central to our defense because it clearly shows how this naive girl was duped into doing things outside her knowledge," Gooi Soon Seng said at his office in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur.
The February 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam sparked a fierce diplomatic battle between two countries that once had warm relations. Aisyah and another woman, from Vietnam, have been charged with murder for allegedly smearing Kim's face with VX nerve agent at a bustling airport terminal.
Although Malaysia never directly accused North Korea of carrying out the attack, speculation is rampant that Pyongyang orchestrated a hit on a long-exiled member of its ruling elite.
Also Read
It was an abrupt turnaround in the investigation. Earlier, Malaysia's national police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, had hinted that the men had valuable intelligence, saying he would wait to question them, "even if it takes five years." One of the men identified by police is Ri Ji U, known by his nickname James.
They practiced at malls, hotels and airports, Gooi said, speaking ahead of a court appearance Thursday by the two defendants in which prosecutors are expected to ask for the case to be moved to a higher court for the trial.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content