Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia discuss N. Korean murder case

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her Vietnamese and Malaysian counterparts met in the Philippines to discuss the alleged involvement of an Indonesian and a Vietnamese citizen in the murder of a North Korean in Malaysia.

The meeting was held in Boracay, the Philippines, on Monday (Feb 20) on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial Retreat Session, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry noted in its press statement made available in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Minister Marsudi met her Vietnamese and Malaysian counterparts, Panh Binh Minh and Anifah, to follow up on her earlier communications with the latter on the arrest of an Indonesian and a Vietnamese citizen who were allegedly involved in the murder of a North Korean, believed to be Kim Jong-nam, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

During the meeting, the Malaysian foreign minister shed light on the developments in the investigation conducted by the Malaysian police.

Anifah said the investigation process is still ongoing, and several pieces of crucial information have yet to be obtained from the arrested Indonesian and Vietnamese citizens.

Based on the Malaysian law, if the investigation process is still underway, no one apart from the investigators are granted permission to meet the arrested suspects.

Speaking in connection with the matter, Marsudi reaffirmed Indonesias request to Malaysia to grant consular access for the Indonesian citizen. She reminded that consular access should be granted based on the Vienna Convention.

Although the staffers of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Indonesian lawyers have met the investigators and have obtained information that the Indonesian suspect is in good health, yet the consular access is still pending.

Marsudi pointed out that the granting of the consular access could assist and facilitate communication between the investigators and the Indonesian suspect. 

The same request was also put forth by the Vietnamese foreign minister who stressed that granting consular access is the basic right of a foreigner being detained in other country.

In response to the requests, the Malaysian foreign minister vowed to soon coordinate with the Malaysian police, so that consular access will be granted immediately though the investigation is still ongoing.

Malaysian Police Chief Insp. Gen. Khalid Abu Bakar remarked that the Malaysian police have arrested a woman with an Indonesian passport.

The woman known by her initials as SA was arrested on grounds of involvement in the murder of Jong-nam, the stepbrother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"Based on the passport, SA is known to be from Serang in Indonesia. She was identified based on the CCTV recording at the airport. She was alone at the time of the arrest," Bakar noted.

Jong-nam, a 45-year-old North Korean, was believed to be murdered by two women who splashed a chemical substance on his face at the Departure Terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Monday (Feb 13), at 9 a.m. local time when he was scheduled to fly to Macao.

Source: ANTARA