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Indonesian suspect says knowing no plan about DPRK man killing in Kuala Lumpurt airport

Xinhua, February 25, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Indonesian woman suspect believed to be the one carrying out the deadly attack on a man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the Kuala Lumpur airport told Indonesian officials Saturday that she thought she was doing a prank using "baby oil".

Siti Aisyah, a 25-year-old girl from Indonesia's Serang, was allowed to meet Indonesian diplomats for the first time on Saturday at a detention center in Cyberjaya.

Andriano Erwin, Indonesia's deputy ambassador to Malaysia, told reporters after the meeting that Siti said she did not know any kind of plans involving an attack or an assassination of the DPRK man.

Siti also said she was paid 400 ringgit (90 U.S. dollars) to join a reality show, Andriano told the press.

The Indonesian deputy ambassador said Siti did not know the Vietnamese suspect, and was only introduced by someone to some Korean or Japanese guys by the name of "James" and "Chang".

Andriano said the date of March 1 should be the last day when the police will decide to prosecute her or release her if no evidence proves her involvement, noting the Indonesian side has arranged a team of lawyers to help its citizen.

According to a statement from the Indonesian embassy, embassy staff used a mobile device to scan Siti's fingerprints before they can verify the passport information. They also checked Siti's health status which seemed fine as "she can answer all questions well".

Malaysian police said on Friday they had found on the body of the DPRK man VX nerve agents, a lethal chemical weapon banned by the United Nations. The police also said one of the two female suspects had shown symptoms like "vomitting".

As a highly stable substance, VX nerve agents is very difficult to evaporate, causing concerns that the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2, where the attack was carried out, could pose dangers to passengers and tourists.

In a statement, the Malaysia Airports said there had been no anomalies on the medical cases reported at the clinic since the incident. It said the customer service staff who attended the DPRK man had been sent for a medical check-up and she was fine.

Yet safety concerns still remain. Malaysian police said on Saturday night that a joint clearn-up operation, involving a team from the police in charge of chemical, biological and radiological nuclear explosives, a team from the fire and rescue department tasked with handling hazardous materials and a team from the Atomic Energy Licencing Board, will be carried out on Sunday morning.

Malaysian police are now holding three suspects in custody, the Indonesian Siti Aisyah, a woman from Vietnam and a DPRK man who holds a Malaysian working permit at a local anti-cancer company. They also want to interview seven others, four of them are believed to have arrived in Pyongyang.

Abdul Samah Mat, the Selangor police chief, told reporters on Saturday that they are still tracing the suspect nicknamed "James" to help with the investigation.

He said no next-of-kin has come to claim the body. Enditem