From LOL T-shirt to a bulletproof vest: Kim murder suspects go to court

Doan Thi Huong, who is Vietnamese, and Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian woman, were formally charged with murder on Wednesday.

Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong, wearing a bulletproof vest, is escorted by police officers out of court in Sepang, Malaysia, after being formally charged with the murder of Kim Jong-nam. Daniel Chan / AP Photo

Mar 01, 2017

TOKYO // Because of a grainy security camera photo that went viral online, she is now known to many as the “LOL assassin”.

But as Doan Thi Huong arrived at a courthouse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to be formally charged with the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother two weeks ago, she had a very different look – tear-filled eyes and a bulletproof vest.

For most people, those first images Ms Huong were as shocking as they were bizarre – apparently showing her lugeing at Kim Jong-nam in a crowded airport terminal while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned in big black letters, LOL, an acronym for laughing out loud.

Star TV via AP Photo

Ms Huong, who is Vietnamese, and Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian woman, were formally charged with murder on Wednesday.

Her dyed light-brown hair dishevelled and frizzy, Ms Huong was led into the courthouse handcuffed to a female Malaysian officer. She wore a yellow shirt under the protective vest and jeans. As she looked out at a bank of photographers and journalists waiting outside, her face was puffy and her eyes red and teary.

Ms Aisyah, the Indonesian suspect, arrived dressed in a red T-shirt under her vest and also wore jeans. Outside court, she appeared more sombre, her eyes downcast.

Doan Thi Huong, left, and Siti Aisyah. EPA

Malaysian police say the two women rubbed VX nerve agent onto Kim’s face, possibly at the behest of North Koreans. Kim was dead within 20 minutes.

Both women deny they intended to kill Kim. They say they were hired to play what they were led to believe was a harmless prank on him for a TV show.

If found guilty, they could be executed.

* Associated Press