Kim Chol was limping after being 'attacked', High Court told

Kim Chol or Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, was seen limping for several minutes after the "attack" on him at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) Departure Hall entry registration kiosk, the High Court here was told yesterday.

KLIA/Sepang District Police Headquarters CID senior investigation officer ASP Wan Azirul NIzam Che Wan Aziz said, based on the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera recording at the airport, the movements of Kim Chol was a bit affected when approaching the Menara Medical Clinic there while accompanied by two policemen.

He said the victim's movements were still like normal when heading for the lift at Level 3, to be taken to the clinic, but became inhibited upon arrival at the foyer to Level 2 heading to the clinic.

"At this time, the victim (Kim Chol) was seen limping before entering the clinic. The victim was seen walking normally before that," said the witness when asked to explain the CCTV recording which was shown in court by Deputy Public Prosecutor Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.

Wan Azirul Nizam said the victim was taken into the clinic by a policeman and was helped on to a stretcher by a medic at the clinic and given breathing aid.

"His light blue blazer and belt were also taken off," said the ninth prosecution witness on the seventh day of the trial of two women. Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, who were charged with four others still at large with murdering Kim Choi, 45, at the klia2 Departure Hall at 9 am on Feb 13.

The witness said the victim's personal effects such as blazer, wristwatch, bracelet and belt were also taken by the police and handed over to the Chemistry Department for analysis.

He said all the items were then handed over to the North Korean Embassy on the directive of the Selangor CID.

The witness also said US$100,000 was also found in the victim's sling bag and it was later kept in the Sepang District Police chief's strong room.

When asked to identify the deceased based on a photograph, Wan Azirul Nizam said: "Yes, this was the deceased with the name Kim Chol on his passport".

At the proceeding too, lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, who represented Doan ,requested that several words used by the ninth witness, among others, "attack, panic and aggressive" be expunged from the trial records because the words were based on what the witness saw in the CCTV recording.

Judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin said the statement given by the witness was based on his observation and there was no objection from any quarter from the moment he started giving the statement.

"For the moment, we leave it as it was said. I will decide at the end. If I find they should be expunged, I will replace the words later. We look at the progress of this case first," said the judge.

The court also fixed Oct 24 to visit the scene of the incident at klia2 at the request of the lawyers to enable them to identify the location of the incident which was shown in the CCTV recording around the airport.

The trial continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA