Tag: Doan Thi Huong

Vietnamese Woman Accused of Murdering Kim Jong-nam Expected to Be Released in Early May After Agree to Plea Deal

The Indonesian woman accused of murdering Kim Jong-nam was released last month and it appears next month the Vietnamese woman involved in the murder will be let go as well:

Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong leaves Shah Alam High Court in Shah Alam, Malaysia, Monday, April 1, 2019. The Vietnamese woman who is the only suspect in custody for the killing of the North Korean leader’s brother Kim Jong Nam pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a Malaysian court Monday and her lawyer asked for leniency.

A Vietnamese woman who is the only suspect in custody for the killing of the North Korean leader’s brother pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a Malaysian court on Monday and her lawyer said she could be freed as early as next month.
Doan Thi Huong had faced a murder charge, which carried the death penalty if she was convicted, in the slaying of Kim Jong Nam, who died after being accosted by two women in a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal. Huong nodded as a translator read the new charge to her: voluntarily causing injury with a dangerous weapon, VX nerve agent.
High Court judge Azmi Ariffin sentenced Huong to three years and four months from the day she was arrested on Feb. 15, 2017. Huong’s lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said his client is expected to be freed by the first week of May, after a one-third reduction in her sentence for good behavior.
“I am happy,” Huong, 30, told reporters as she left the courtroom, adding she thought it was a fair outcome.
While handing out a jail term short of the maximum 10 years the new charge carried, the judge told Huong she was “very, very lucky” and he wished her “all the best.” Vietnamese officials in the courtroom cheered when the decision was announced.

Associated Press

I wonder what the verdict on this would have been if it was a Malaysian murdered like this instead of the son of a foreign despot?

Kim Jong-nam Assassin Was Once A Contestant on Vietnamese Version of American Idol

As if the murder of Kim Jong-nam could not get any more bizarre, now the VX nerve agent wielding assassin Doan Thi Huong has been identified as an aspiring singer who appeared recently on Vietnam’s version of American Idol:

A woman believed to be Huong appeared on the Vietnamese version of Pop Idol

Doan Thi Huong’s site features pouting party pictures including a snap of her wearing a shirt emblazoned ‘LOL’  similar to the one on the fleeing suspect caught on CCTV.

The photos were released amid claims she once starred on the Vietnamese version of Pop Idol.

The 28-year-old worked at a popular party venue, according to Malaysian police who have arrested her over the murder of Kim Jong Nam at a Malaysian airport .

On a rice farm in northern Vietnam, her family said they had hardly heard from her since she left home a decade ago aged just 18.

“At first we doubted it was her when we saw the picture with the ‘LOL’ shirt,” said stepmother Nguyen Thi Vy .

“But when someone bought a clearer picture here, we knew it was our Huong.

“If she committed the crime, she has to suffer, we can’t do anything… but I think she must have been set up by someone.”

Huong’s brother Doan Van Binh said he knew little about his sister’s life after she left the village.

“I encouraged her to study and earn money so that her future would be good,” he said.

“My family is very sad. We all thought she was in a good place.”

Huong posted to Facebook under the name Ruby Ruby, according to her 18-year-old niece, Dinh Thi Quyen.

The last post on a Facebook page – released by the respected AP news agency – is dated February 11 from Kampong Besut, Malaysia.

“I want to sleep more but by your side,” the post reads above a picture of her, eyes closed and wrapped up in bed.  [The UK Sun]

You can read much more about Huong at the link, but here is what Huong looks like when not covered in make up and wearing a LOL shirt:

A photo released by Malaysian police of Huong in custody

Woman Linked to Kim Jong-nam Murder Traveled to Vietnam and South Korea with North Korean Agent

Here is the latest details about the women who apparently were duped into murdering Kim Jong-nam by a North Korean agent who allegedly was able to travel to South Korea:

Female suspects Doan (left) and Siti Aishah.

The two women suspected to have murdered North Korean Kim Jong-nam were allegedly “recruited” by a mysterious man to carry out the deadly task as early as three months ago.

According to a report by China Press, both Siti Aishah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 29, were not North Korean “special agents, but were possibly duped by a spy ring to commit the assassination.

Indonesian national Siti Aishah was arrested at 2am on Thursday, while Doan, who holds a Vietnamese passport, was arrested a day earlier.

China Press reported that the mystery man, believed to be a spy, got to know Doan about three months ago in Malaysia, who eventually became his escort.

The mystery man even took her on several overseas trips, including on one to Vietnam, where they visited her hometown and another trip to South Korea.

China Press reported the mystery man then introduced Doan to the four men still wanted by the police in connection with the killing.

It reported that the mystery man got to know Siti Aishah about a month ago, but only introduced the two women to each other recently when he told them about a “prank ” he wanted them to pull off.

The two women have claimed that they had no idea that it would lead to trouble as they thought it was only supposed to be a filming of the prank being carried out.

They apparently rehearsed the “spoof” many times and were able to carry out the process proficiently.  [The Star]

You can read more at the link.