Kim Jong Nam Carried Nerve Agent Antidote On Assassination Day, Witness Says

Kim Jong Nam, the estranged brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, carried vials of antidote to the VX nerve agent when he was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the day of his assassination Feb.13, a witness told the Shah Alam court, Malaysia, Wednesday.

Jong Nam, who was poisoned by the prohibited VX nerve agent, had with him 12 glass vials of atropine, according to a report by Kuala Lumpur-based Malay Mail Online. The report stated police found bottles containing atropine, which can be used as an antidote for VX nerve agent poison and insecticides, in Jong Nam’s sling bag.

Gooi Soon Seng, the lawyer of one of the accused, Siti Aisyah, said the bottles containing atropine and 12 other exhibits were sent by the police to the chemistry department of the Alcohol and Toxicology Clinical Unit for conducting tests March 10. The head of the department, Dr. K. Sharmilah, concurred with Seng on the above. The other accused Vietnamese woman is Doan Thi Huong.

The report stated that during the trial when Seng questioned Sharmilah, who is the prosecution’s 23rd witness, she did not know whether the bottles were labeled in Korean. The report added the witness was testifying on the 22nd day of trail of the two accused in the murder of Jong Nam.

Sharmilah agreed with Seng an insecticide would also result in death with symptoms similar to that of being poisoned by the VX nerve agent.

But she added, “However, the use of insecticide to kill a person requires a viscosity rate that is different from VX.”

Sharmilah added during a re-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari, it was found that only ten milligrams of the VX nerve agent was required to kill a person through skin absorption. She then compared ten milligrams of VX nerve agent to an extremely toxic insecticide named Phorate, and said 72,000 milligrams of the substance was needed to cause death via skin absorption.

After examining Jong Nam’s blood samples, Sharmilah stated the blood contained a mix of medicines needed to treat gout, high-blood pressure and pain.

On Nov. 27, a Malaysian doctor, Nurliza Abdullah, who conducted the autopsy on Jong Nam’s body, told the Shah Alam court feces was found in the underwear of the deceased and his pupils were contracted. She said these were signs of poisoning.Abdullah reportedly said, “Based on our autopsy and the lab test results, the cause of death is acute nerve agent VX poisoning."

A police witness who testified in court Thursday said Huong had a chance to dispose the t-shirt and the short skirt she wore while allegedly attacking Jong Nam, according to a report by Bernama, a national news agency in Malaysia. But Huong did not show any signs of anxiety while giving the clothes to the police, two days after the event took place.

The witness, Selangor Police Headquarters CID officer and assistant superintendent, Nasrol Sain Hamzah, 38, agreed with the defense attorney representing Huong, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, that her clothes were not hidden in the room at the Sky Star Hotel, Sepang, when the police officials conducted a raid.