Issue over claiming of Jong Nam's body to be resolved in two or three weeks - Subramaniam

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said today he expects the issue of claiming the body of murdered North Korean Kim Jong Nam to be resolved in two to three weeks.

He said the government was seeking the best solution to the issue.

"The Health Ministry will discuss the next move with the Prime Minister's Department, Home Ministry and Foreign Ministry if the body is not claimed by the family of Jong Nam," he said.

Speaking to the media after the presentation of Research Innovation Awards of the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia, Dr Subramaniam confirmed that the body of Jong Nam was still at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

Asked whether Malaysia would hand over the body if Pyongyang wants to claim it, Dr Subramaniam said: "Now, with the positive identification of the body, we are told that Jong Nam has a wife or wives or children. We hope those people will respond and come forward to claim the body."

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had said that the police had handed over Jong Nam's body to the Health Ministry as no next-of-kin had come forward to claim it.

Jong Nam was at KL International Airport 2 on Feb 13 to board a flight to Macau when two women suddenly appeared before him and allegedly wiped his face with the palms of their hands which contained what was later identified as the VX nerve agent.

He was rushed to the Putrajaya Hospital but died on the way.

Two women, 25-year-old Siti Aisyah, 25, an Indonesian, and 28-year-old Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese, have been charged in the Sepang Sessions Court with the murder. -- Bernama