Judge dons mask as nerve agent evidence shown in Kim Jong Nam murder trial

A Malaysian judge and court officials wore face masks and surgical gloves in court as samples were admitted as evidence of where VX nerve agent was found on the body and clothing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader.

On the third day of the murder trial of the two women accused of poisoning Kim Jong Nam, government pathologist Mohamad Shah Mahmood said chemist’s tests had detected VX, as well as VX precursors and VX byproducts, in Kim’s eye mucus, on his face, in his blood and urine, and on his clothing.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers then took a 20-minute break to examine those samples, which were sealed in transparent plastic bags. Most of them wore gloves and masks as a safety precaution after prosecutors warned the VX-tainted items may still be dangerous.

After the break, Judge Azmi Ariffin also covered himself as the samples were officially admitted as evidence.

The two suspects, Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam, have pleaded not guilty to murder charges which could bring the death penalty if they are convicted. They have not given evidence but their defence has said the women believed they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera TV show and were tricked by men suspected of being North Korean agents.

On Wednesday, prosecutors sought to show VX was the sole cause of death.

Mohamad Shah Mahmood said toxicology tests found six types of drugs in Kim’s blood which are used to treat diabetes, hypertension and gout. But he said those drugs and those conditions would not have caused his swift death. He also said a post-mortem examination found no sign the he had a heart attack.

The pathologist said his conclusion that Kim died of “acute VX poisoning” was based on a chemist’s report of the presence of VX and the swiftness of death. Earlier evidence showed Kim died within two hours of being attacked in the crowded terminal at Kuala Lumpur airport, not within 20 minutes as earlier stated by Malaysia’s health ministry.

Mohamad Shah Mahmood said the VX was most likely applied on Kim’s face and eyes, where the nerve agent was detected, with the fastest absorption through the eye mucus. “VX is very toxic and it acts fast. There is a very slim chance of survival,” he said.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyers, the pathologist admitted he has limited knowledge of VX and nerve agents in general. He said he did not know the amount of the poison that was used.

Aisyah’s defence lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng, told the court that Mohamad Shah Mahmood has no right to conclude that Kim died of acute VX poisoning because the post-mortem findings and clinical symptoms merely showed chemical poisoning. But the pathologist said the chemist’s report clearly showed VX was present.

The nerve agent is banned by an international treaty as a weapon of mass destruction. But it is believed to be part of North Korea’s chemical weapons arsenal. Kim was the eldest son in the current generation of North Korea’s dynastic rulers but was believed to have been an outcast who had lived abroad for years. He reportedly never met current leader Kim Jong Un, who is widely believed to have perceived his sibling as a threat and targeted him for assassination.

The trial is being closely watched by the Indonesian and Vietnamese governments, which hired the defence lawyers for both women.