Vietnamese suspect in Kim Jong-Nam murder handed prison term

Monday, 1 April 2019 12:03

A Vietnamese woman accused of killing the North Korean leader’s brother pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of "causing hurt by a dangerous weapon".

Doan Thi Huong, who is the only suspect in custody for the killing, has been handed a prison term of three years and four months in a Malaysian court on Monday.

Her lawyer said she could be freed by May.

The surprise reduction in charges came after authorities rejected a request for her murder charge, which carried a mandatory death penalty, to be dropped entirely.

Earlier, the attorney-general withdrew the charge against Indonesian co-defendant Siti.

Kim Jong-Nam was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur Airport in 2017 in broad daylight, with the toxic nerve agent VX.

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