The young Vietnamese pleaded guilty to "intentionally causing injury" to the North Korean leader's half brother. Hương was sentenced to three years and four months in prison. Thanks to the penalty reductions, she will be free "the first week of next month". In Malaysia, a conviction for murder involves the mandatory death penalty.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) - Maggiooàn Thị Hương (photo), a 30-year-old Vietnamese accused of killing the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, will be free in May after pleading guilty to a minor crime. This was announced today by one of her lawyers, welcoming "the just sentence" issued by the judges of the High Court of Shah Alam.
Hương was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, starting with her arrest in February 2017. But her lawyers report that, thanks to the usual penalty reductions, the woman will be able to leave prison "the first week of next month" . On March 11, the Malaysian court had rejected her request to suspend the charge; a surprising decision, as the attorney general had agreed to withdraw the charges against the other defendant, Indonesian Siti Aisyah.
The killing of Kim Jong-nam took place on February 13, 2017, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Klia). The two women were arrested three days after the assassination and accused of having sprayed Kim Jong-nam's face with a powerful nerve gas known as the Vx agent, which in 20 minutes led to the collapse of the victim's nervous system. Since the arrest, Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong have defended their innocence claiming to have been duped by some North Korean agents, who involved them in what they thought was a television prank.
Hương therefore pleaded guilty to a new indictment: "intentionally causing injury to Kim" with the use of "dangerous means". In Malaysia, a conviction for murder involves the mandatory death penalty.