Acquitted of murder. Doan Thi Huong could be released next month.
Doan Thi Huong was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for intentionally causing injury by dangerous means and could be released in early May.
At the court session this morning, the Malaysian prosecutor proposed to prosecute Doan Thi Huong for intentionally causing injury by dangerous means instead of murder in the case of killing North Korean citizen Kim Chol. The prosecutor made the decision after receiving a request from the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and Huong's defense lawyers.
After the indictment was read, Huong pleaded guilty. She smiled and said, "I am very happy."
After a period of deliberation, Judge Azmin Ariffin sentenced Doan Thi Huong to 3 years and 4 months in prison. Accordingly, she will be released in June 2020, deducting the time Huong has spent in detention during her trial in Malaysia since February 15, 2017.
However, Doan Thi Huong's lawyer said that sentence reductions are common in the Malaysian legal system and she will be released next month. "She will be home in the first week of May," lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told reporters.
"I am very happy, this is a fair verdict, a fair judgment. I thank the Vietnamese government and the Malaysian government," Huong said.
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Doan Thi Huong smiles as she leaves court after her murder conviction was overturned. Photo:AFP. |
Hisyam had previously said the basic content of the second petition was to ask the Malaysian Attorney General to reconsider his earlier rejection of the request for release. Huong's reduced murder charge in this trial was expected by her lawyers.
Kim Chol, who the US and South Korea claim is the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was murdered at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia in February 2017. Huong and Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian citizen, are accused of using the nerve agent VX to kill him.
During the March 11 trial, Malaysian prosecutors withdrew the murder charge against Aisyah but did not give a reason. She was released immediately after the trial and quickly returned home. However, at a defense hearing three days later, Malaysian Attorney General Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad decided to continue Huong's trial despite her legal team's request for her release. Huong became the only suspect on trial in the case. Four North Koreans identified by Malaysian police as suspects left Malaysia hours after the murder and have not yet been arrested.
