A Vietnamese woman who is the only suspect in custody for the killing of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother Kim Jong-nam pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a Malaysian court on Monday, AP reported, citing her lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.
Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told the Malaysian court that her guilty plea showed Doan Thi Huong, 29, “has taken responsibility” for her actions. In asking for a lenient sentence, he also told the court that her move saved judicial time, according to AP.
“She is neither a criminal nor has the propensity to commit a crime”, Hisyam was quoted by AP as saying. Hisyam added that four North Korean suspects still at large were the “real assassins”, according to AP.
Her lawyer explained that Doan Thi Huong had been offered a charge related to causing hurt instead of murder and that it is likely that she could walk out free soon. However, a Malaysian judge sentenced Monday Doan Thi Huong to three years and four months in prison.
Ealier in March, another suspected woman, Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, also accused of assassinating Kim Jong-nam, was released after a Malaysian court dropped the charges against her.
Kim Jong-nam was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017 with the help of what investigators believed to be a VX nerve agent.
While the prosecution insisted that the two women were well-trained assassins and knowingly sprayed the toxic agent into Kim’s face, Aisyah and Doan pleaded not guilty and said that they believed they were a part of a prank for a reality TV show when they attacked Kim.