KUALA LUMPUR: The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was carrying $100,000 in cash in his backpack at the time of his murder, the police officer investigating the case told a Malaysian court on Wednesday.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, a Vietnamese, are charged with murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX, a chemical poison banned by the United Nations, at Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13.
The money is now stored in a safe in the office of the police chief of the Sepang district, which has jurisdiction over the murder site, police official Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz said.
Wan Azirul said he took posession of the victim’s blazer, backpack and watch and handed them to the chemistry department for analysis, but was later told by investigation authorities to hand them over to representatives of the North Korean embassy.
“I do not know why, I was following orders,” he added.
In court, the prosecution played more than 30 videos of closed-circuit television footage of the women’s activities, after Judge Azmi Ariffin overruled defense objections to their admissibility, saying it could be challenged later in the case.
The defense lawyers for both Huong and Siti Aisyah said the videos could be considered hearsay, as the investigating officer did not record them himself and was not present to witness the crime.
Some of the footage, dated Feb. 11, appeared to show Huong approaching an unidentified man from behind and placing her hands around his neck and face, before backing away slowly with her head slightly lowered and her hands put together.
Most of the videos, however, appeared to show Huong and Siti Aisyah before, during and after the attack on Kim Jong Nam. The two women were mostly seen in separate locations, save for during the attack and when they were at a taxi-stand later.
The two women were in the same area at the time of the attack, Wan Azirul, who is with the Sepang criminal investigations department, confirmed.
The hearing resumes on Thursday, with Wan Azirul returning to the witness stand.
Murdered N.Korean Kim Jong Nam had $100,000 in backpack, police witness says
Murdered N.Korean Kim Jong Nam had $100,000 in backpack, police witness says
UK upper house approves social media ban for under-16s
LONDON: Britain’s upper house of parliament voted Wednesday in favor of banning under?16s from using social media, raising pressure on the government to match a similar ban passed in Australia.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he was not ruling out any options and pledged action to protect children, but his government wants to wait for the results of a consultation due this summer before legislating.
Calls have risen across the opposition and within the governing Labour party for the UK to follow Australia, where under-16s have been barred from social media applications since December 10.
The amendment from opposition Conservative lawmaker John Nash passed with 261 votes to 150 in the House of Lords, co?sponsored by a Labour and a Liberal Democrat peer.
“Tonight, peers put our children’s future first,” Nash said. “This vote begins the process of stopping the catastrophic harm that social media is inflicting on a generation.”
Before the vote, Downing Street said the government would not accept the amendment, which now goes to the Labour-controlled lower House of Commons. More than 60 Labour MPs have urged Starmer to back a ban.
Public figures including actor Hugh Grant urged the government to back the proposal, saying parents alone cannot counter social media harms.
Some child-protection groups warn a ban would create a false sense of security.
A YouGov poll in December found 74 percent of Britons supported a ban. The Online Safety Act requires secure age?verification for harmful content.
