Kim Jong Nam’s body set to leave Malaysia by plane

The body of Kim Jong Nam, half-brother to North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, and the victim of a bizarre murder at Kuala Lumpur airport, is expected to leave by plane on Thursday, media reports and an aviation industry source said.

Kim’s body was believed to be on Malaysia Airlines flight MH360 to Beijing, en route to North Korea, that was currently preparing for take-off, media said.

The flight was behind its scheduled departure of 6 p.m. (1000 GMT)

“It is planned for…but not sure if (it’s) happening,” said the aviation industry source, when asked if the body would be flown out on Thursday.

The release of the body by Malaysia – which recently imposed a ban on North Korean nationals leaving the Southeast Asian country – was arranged to secure the return of nine Malaysians stranded in Pyongyang after North Korea imposed a travel ban on Malaysians leaving its borders.

Malaysian police say Kim was killed on February 13 by two women who smeared super toxic VX nerve agent on his face at the Kuala Lumpur budget terminal.

North Korea is demanding Kim’s body and three remaining suspects inside its embassy be returned to Pyongyang in exchange for an end to the travel ban on Malaysians, diplomatic sources have said.

Some media reports said the North Korean suspects were also leaving for Beijing on the same flight.

 

Source: Reuters/NAN

JUST IN: North Korean Ambassador Leaves Malaysia

North Korea’s ambassador left Malaysia on Monday evening after he was expelled for making disparaging remarks about the country and challenging its motives in investigating the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korea’s ruler.

The ambassador, Kang Chol, who had questioned the Malaysian police’s findings and suggested that Mr. Kim had died of heart failure rather than by poison, was declared “persona non grata” on Saturday and given 48 hours to leave.

At the airport, Mr. Kang told reporters that the “extreme measures” taken by the Malaysian government were doing “great harm” to relations between the two countries.

Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia said Mr. Kang had been expelled because he had not apologized for his comments when asked to do so.

“Anyone who comes here must respect us,” Mr. Najib said, according to The Star, a Malaysian newspaper. “If they made baseless accusations, they should rightfully apologize and take back what they said. But they didn’t do that, so we have taken action to declare the person as persona non grata.”

Mr. Kim was killed on Feb. 13 as he prepared to check in for a flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The police said that two women, one from Vietnam and one from Indonesia, had smeared nerve agent on Mr. Kim’s face. The women have been charged with murder.

The Malaysian police are seeking seven North Korean men in the case, including a diplomat stationed in Malaysia. The South Korean government has accused North Korea of organizing an assassination.

Declaring an ambassador persona non grata is one of the harshest diplomatic measures a nation can take against another country, short of breaking off relations.

North Korea announced Monday evening that it had declared Malaysia’s ambassador persona non grata and had ordered him to leave. However, Malaysia had already recalled him for consultations last month.

On Monday, Malaysia stopped allowing North Koreans to enter the country without a visa. It also said that its national soccer squad would not be allowed to play in an Asian Cup qualifying match on March 28 against the North Korea team in Pyongyang.

While diplomats from North Korea generally keep a low profile, Mr. Kang angered Malaysian officials by saying that his country “cannot trust” the police investigation, and by accusing Malaysia of colluding with outside powers to defame North Korea.

Although Mr. Kang had never acknowledged that the deceased man was the half brother of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, he had sought to have the body handed over to the embassy before the Malaysian authorities could conduct an autopsy.

After the autopsy was performed, Mr. Kang questioned Malaysia’s finding that Mr. Kim had been killed with the nerve agent VX, a weapon banned by international conventions but known to be in North Korea’s arsenal.

Mr. Najib, in a televised interview that aired on Sunday, said that the use of a banned chemical nerve agent was “totally unacceptable.” The use of VX could have killed many more people than just the intended victim, he said. Mr. Najib did not name either of the Kim brothers or North Korea.

“We have to accept the fact that a crime has been committed in Malaysia,” the prime minister said in the interview with Al Arabiya television. “The substance, or the weapon used, is a very, very dangerous chemical weapon, which should not be used at all, because if used in large quantities, many, many people could have been killed, not just one person.”

The interview was recorded last week before the two women were charged with murder and before Malaysia ordered Mr. Kang’s expulsion. Mr. Najib noted that VX is classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

“We have to take a very serious stance,” Mr. Najib said. “We are very determined to find out the truth and that the people responsible should be brought to justice.”

Source: NY Times

Malaysia, North Korea in tense tit-for-tat travel bans as North Korea holds Malaysians hostage.

North Korea banned Malaysians from leaving the country Tuesday, triggering a tit-for-tat response from Kuala Lumpur which said its citizens were effectively being held “hostage” in the row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam.

Pyongyang’s extraordinary move came as it faced growing international condemnation for a volley of missiles it fired into the Sea of Japan, defying stringent global sanctions aimed at halting its weapons programme.

Tuesday’s developments marked a dramatic heightening of tensions with Malaysia three weeks after the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was murdered at an airport with the banned VX nerve agent.

The prohibition would remain in place “until the safety of the diplomats and citizens of the DPRK in Malaysia is fully guaranteed through the fair settlement of the case that occurred in Malaysia”.

The Malaysian foreign ministry said 11 of its citizens were currently in North Korea, including three embassy staff, six family members and two others who work for the UN’s World Food Programme.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the bar, and said he was ordering a similar ban on the movement of “all North Korean citizens in Malaysia”. Analysts said they could number around 1,000.

The home ministry had previously indicated the ban only affected diplomats and embassy officials.

“This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms,” Najib said, according to a statement.

“As a peace-loving nation, Malaysia is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries.

“However, protecting our citizens is my first priority, and we will not hesitate to take all measures necessary when they are threatened.”

– Weapon of mass destruction –
Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur had unusually strong links for years, but ties have rapidly degenerated in the weeks since Kim Jong-Nam was attacked at a Malaysian airport by two women who wiped a deadly chemical on his face.

An autopsy revealed that to be VX nerve agent, a substance so dangerous it is classed as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for the assassination, and Kuala Lumpur wants to question several North Koreans, although the only one it arrested was released last week for lack of evidence.

The North has never confirmed the dead man’s identity, but has denounced the Malaysian investigation as an attempt to smear it.

Kuala Lumpur announced the expulsion of the North’s ambassador over the weekend. He flew to Beijing on Monday, after launching a final verbal assault on his hosts.

Kang Chol slammed what he called a “pre-targeted investigation by the Malaysian police”. Photographs later showed him sitting in the economy section of the plane.

Pyongyang retaliated by formally ordering out his counterpart — who had already been recalled for consultations.

According to KCNA, the foreign ministry expressed hopes that the Malaysian government would solve the issue “as early as possible” from a position of “goodwill” and “setting store by and developing the bilateral relations”.

Malaysian diplomats and nationals in the North “may work and live normally under the same conditions and circumstances as before” while the travel ban is in place, it added.

The escalating row comes as the United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting to coordinate the global response to the North’s latest missile launches, which KCNA said Tuesday were trial runs at hitting “the bases of the US imperialist aggressor forces in Japan”.

Three of the four projectiles fired Monday came down provocatively close to Japan, in what observers said was a test of US President Donald Trump’s inchoate North Korea policy.

In phone calls to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Trump reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to its allies.

The US will demonstrate to Pyongyang that there were “very dire consequences” for its actions, the White House said in a statement.

Under UN resolutions, Pyongyang is barred from any use of ballistic missile technology, but six sets of sanctions since its first nuclear test in 2006 have failed to halt its drive for what it insists are defensive weapons.

New US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Japan, China and South Korea later this month, a weekend report said, with North Korea expected to top his agenda.

North Korea orders expulsion of Malaysian ambassador

North Korea said Monday it would expel Malaysia’s ambassador after its own envoy was ordered out of the Southeast Asian nation, in an increasingly bitter row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

“The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK (North Korea) notifies that the Malaysian ambassador to the DPRK is labeled as a persona non grata… and demanded that the ambassador leave the DPRK,” state news agency KCNA said, giving a 48-hour deadline.

The KCNA report came shortly after the North’s ambassador Kang Chol flew home from Kuala Lumpur.

North Korea has not acknowledged the dead man’s identity but has repeatedly attacked the murder investigation and demanded a second autopsy, accusing Malaysia of conniving with its enemies.

Airport CCTV footage shows two women approaching the 45-year-old victim and apparently smearing his face with a cloth. Police say he suffered a seizure and died less than 20 minutes later. Swabs of his face revealed traces of the VX nerve agent.

Two women — one Vietnamese and one Indonesian — are in custody and have been charged with the murder while police are seeking seven North Korean suspects, four of whom left Malaysia on February 13, the day of the assassination.

Police last week released the only North Korean they had arrested, citing a lack of evidence.

South Korea has blamed Pyongyang for the murder, citing what it says was a standing order from leader Kim Jong-Un to kill his exiled half-brother.

 

Source: AFP

Malaysian government to arraign 2 suspects in North Korean killing

Malaysia’s Attorney-General, Tan Ali, says two female suspects in custody over the killing of Kim Jong Nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half brother, will appear in court on Wednesday.

“Both women will be charged under Section 302 of the Malaysian penal code which deals with punishment for murder,” Mr. Tan told dpa on Tuesday.

He said Doan Huong, a 29-year-old Vietnamese woman, and Siti Aishah, a 25-year-old Indonesian woman, will be charged in Sepang Magistrate Court.

The government says the women poisoned Kim by wiping a highly toxic chemical nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport on February 13.

The “VX” nerve agent allegedly used in the attack is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations.

The Indonesian suspect has said she thought she was carrying out a prank for a television show, and that the poisonous liquid given to her was baby oil, Indonesian embassy officials have said.

On Sunday, Malaysia’s health minister told reporters that the deadly chemical killed Kim within 15 to 20 minutes.

“The doses were so high, it was so fast and happened all over the body … that it affected his heart and lungs,” Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said.

Malaysian police are still searching for seven more North Koreans believed to be linked to the killing, including a diplomat in the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an airline worker with Air Koryo, the state national airline.

 

Source: dpa/NAN

Malaysia arrests third suspect in Kim Jong Nam’s death.

Malaysian police have arrested a third suspect in its investigation into the death of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.

Abdul Mat, the police chief of Selangor state, told journalists that the suspect, a 26-year-old male Malaysian, was arrested in Ampang city of the state of Selangor.

According to the police, the man is believed to be the boyfriend of the second suspect, a bearer of an Indonesian passport who was earlier arrested.

The police have been looking into the connections between the suspects, while trying to pin down their roles in the death of Kim Jong Nam.

A local court has granted a seven-day remand order for the first two suspects.

The first female suspect, holding a Vietnamese passport, was arrested on Wednesday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s second terminal, where the deceased Kim looked for help after feeling unwell on Monday.

Kim died later on Monday en route to hospital.

His body was taken to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday for post mortem to ascertain the cause of his death.

Report says the results of the post mortem are yet to be released.

There are suspicions that his killers are agents of the North Korean government.

 

Source: Xinhua

Drug Offences: 81 More On Death Row In Malaysia, 15 In Indonesia

No fewer than 81 more Nigerians in Malaysia and 15 in Indonesia are awaiting execution after they had been convicted on drug related offences in the two countries just as one Chijioke Stephen Obioha was executed in Singapore yesterday.

Drug offences in those countries carry the death penalty.

It was reliably learnt from sources in the Malaysian Embassy that the Malaysia government had repeatedly complained to the Drug Law Enforcement Agency of Nigeria of what had become almost an epidemic proportion of Nigerians who traffic in the deadly cargo but all appear to have fallen on deaf ears as the number of arrests had been on a steady increase.

Last week, Indonesia executed another Nigerian without fanfare as was contained in notes exchanged when Nigeria’s drug law agency officials visited Indonesia recently.

Obioha’s execution was inspite of global cries and appeals which followed the failure of his appeal to their apex court after conviction. The apex court threw out his final appeal.

Malaysia complained that the new tactics that the Nigerians were using to traffic and vend hard drugs was through chat groups on social media.

Read More: thisdaylive

Malaysia’s Bilateral Trade With Nigeria Hits $766.8m In 2015 — Envoy

Malaysian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Datuk Lim Juay Jin, said his country’s bilateral trade with Nigeria in 2015 stood at 766.8 million dollars.

Datuk Lim, who made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday said that trade value was a 14.6 per cent increase from 2014.

“The total trade between the two countries was valued at 766.8 million U.S. dollars in the year of 2015 and this was an increase of 14.9 per cent from the previous year.

“The trade was in Malaysia’s favour.

“Malaysia’s main export to Nigeria included petroleum products, palm oil and palm based products, machineries and also processed food.

“Malaysia’s main import from Nigeria was Liquefied Natural Gas, iron ore, metal scrap and agricultural goods.

“And of course, it is our sincere hope that the bilateral trade between the two countries will continue to increase; I am sure Nigeria has a lot of things to offer to Malaysia too.”

Datuk Lim said that both countries had bilateral relations since 1965, adding that 2016 marked the 51st year of this relationship that waxed stronger in spite of the dormancy of the Joint Commission of Cooperation.

He said although the joint commission had been inactive for more than a decade, efforts were made to revive it.

“As far as the joint commission meeting is concerned, it is dormant for the time being due to some reasons that have prevented this mechanism to be conducted on a more regular basis.

“This is either due to unavailability of commonly accepted dates and unavailability of officials or members of the commission.

“But both countries have on numerous occasions expressed interest in reviving this Joint Commission of Cooperation because we agree and recognise that this is an important platform to propel bilateral relations.

“I also must stress that even without the joint commission, our relations have been moving on in so many areas without putting special impetus to it and the momentum has picked up, but of course, the joint commission is an official mechanism.”

The high commissioner also explained that the Malaysia-Nigeria Business Council served as an umbrella under which the business communities of both countries explored investment opportunities.

He added that the business council coordinated its activities with the Malaysia-Nigeria Trade Commission.

Datuk Lim further explained that the commission was aimed at spearheading commercial activities between the two countries.

“The activities of this business council is geared towards investment promotion between Nigeria and Malaysia.

“We have, last year, established a trade office in Lagos to spearhead the commercial activities between the two countries and the Nigeria-Malaysia Business Council is working hand-in-hand with the trade office.

“The trade office is manned by a trade commissioner; from here you can also see that Malaysia actually puts a lot of emphasis on Nigeria’s future; we see the business potential in Nigeria.

“Out of the many West African countries we chose Lagos as the destination for the trade office; that speaks volumes.”

According to Datuk Lim, both countries have bilateral relations in the areas of economy, science and technology, culture and capacity building.

153 Nigerians On Death Row In Malaysia, China Over Drugs

Senate yesterday raised the alarm that about 153 Nigerians are currently awaiting execution in Malaysia and China, following their involvement in illicit drugs. The lawmakers also revealed that four out of 11 Nigerians on death row were executed in April 2015 by Indonesian authorities despite pleas for leniency by Nigeria, the United Nations and Amnesty International. This was as the senaNigerians were executed in China also in April last year, even as 120 others are still on death row for drug-related offences, with 74 of them being held in Guandong and Guanxi provinces. The lawmakers said in Singapore, one Nigerian is awaiting the hangman’s noose because of his participation in drug offence. These revelations came to light yesterday during a debate on a motion sponsored by Senator Gbenga Ashafa and supported by 21 others.

The senators consequently urged the Federal Government to restructure and reposition the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, to be able to meet the challenges of evasive drug traffickers who use Nigerians to traffic the illicit products. The lawmakers also asked the police, NDLEA, NAFDAC, Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, PCN, and other regulatory agencies to develop a collaborative approach towards curbing the incidence of drug use and abuse in the country. They, in addition, mandated the Committee on Drugs and Narcotics to urgently consider the amendment of Section 23 of the PCN Act, to include the sale of prescription pills over the counter as an offence punishable by the Act. In his lead presentation, Ashafa disclosed that many Nigerian youths’ involvement in illicit global drugs trade had led them to be currently on death row in different countries. According to him, drug offences in some countries attract capital punishment. Ashafa expressed concerns that in spite of the execution, some desperate Nigerians were still not deterred. He said: “The case for leniency was rendered impotent because, at that point, seven fresh cases of drug trafficking involving Nigerians had just emerged in Indonesia.”

He stated that these desperate Nigerians used to disguise as university students colluding with drug syndicates to undermine the visa system and gain entrance into Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other drug traffic routes. According to him, 30 out of 80 foreign students arrested in 2015 were Nigerians in Malaysia where authorities have confirmed that 40 per cent of foreigners arrested for drug offences are from Nigeria. Senator Ashafa regretted that Nigerians’ involvement in drug business is tarnishing the image of the country. “Our nationals are viewed with suspicion and subjected to demeaning treatment at airports across the world as a result of this negative perception.” The lawmaker chided the Federal Government for not taking serious actions to curb the menace of drug couriers and their sponsors within and outside the country. In their contributions, Senators Sam Anyanwu, Oluremi Tinubu, Barau Jibrin and Ovie Omo- Agege also condemned the rate at which Nigerian youths are involved in drug-related offences.

Credit: NationalMirror

NDLEA Decries Death Sentence On Nigerian In Malaysia

The acting Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mrs. Roli Bode-George, has decried the death sentence passed on a Nigerian, Ekene Collins Isaac, by a Malaysian High Court.

Ekene, 37, was found guilty of smuggling 915.6g of methamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy or MDMA, into Malaysia three years ago.

The High Court judge, Datuk Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim, said the prosecution had proven Isaac’s guilt beyond doubt as she passed down the death sentence.

A statement by the Head, Public Affairs of the agency, Ofoyeju Mitchell, said Roli, however, promised that diplomatic efforts would be explored to save the convict and assured Nigerians that the agency would maintain total alertness in drug detection operation all through the year.

She gave the assurance while speaking on the discovery of drugs in tin packs and arrest of a suspected drug trafficker on Boxing Day at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos with substances that tested positive to cocaine on his way from Brazil. The drug packed in six wraps weighing 120 grammes was inserted into his anus.

The second suspect wanted to export a consignment containing 1.860kg of methamphetamine sealed in tin tomato paste to South Africa when he was arrested.

“The Nigerian government will work to protect every citizen from untimely death resulting from drug trafficking and drug abuse. We shall remain vigilant at all times and prevent drug trafficking syndicates from smuggling narcotic drugs in and out of the country. While respecting the laws of other countries, the federal government will explore diplomatic means to prevent capital punishment on citizens,” George said.

Credit: Thisday

Nigerian dies in Malaysia after selling kidney for N6million

28-year-old Nigerian man, identified as Chukwudi, a native of Imo State has reportedly died while trying to sell his kidney in Malaysia to a patient needing a transplant.

 

According to Pulse reports, a Nigerian business man based in Malaysia, disclosed that Chuwkwudi is not alone in this risky and dangerous business of selling internal organs for money, as many young Nigerians undertake this venture just to get rich quick.

 

“I know many Nigerians will say it is none of my business how others make their money but I want to bring this to the notice of our country people how many of our young men die here in Malaysia in very disturbing circumstances.

 

“I can tell of this young Igbo boy named Chukwudi, from Owerri, Imo state, who was paid the sum of N6 million by one rich man to donate his kidney for a transplant.

 

“The young man was brought in from Nigeria and I had the privilege of interacting with him and tried to discourage him from undertaking such a risky venture but he was adamant, telling me he had made up his mind already and nothing could stop him.

 

“I even asked him to join me in my little car washing business from which I have been able to build a house back home but Chukwudi did not want to struggle to make money, he wanted to undertake this venture just to get rich quick.

 

“He wanted fast money and he ended up a dead man because the operation was not successful. He died in the process while the rich man had a successful kidney transplant.

 

“I felt so bad because I kind of liked the boy who was a graduate and had a lot of life ahead of him.

 

“So, please I want to use this opportunity to warn our young people not to always be in a hurry to make fast money, especially at the expense of one’s life,” the business man added.

Malaysia Identifies Two ISIS Terrorists in Beheading Video

Malaysia’s counter-terrorism police say they have identified two Malaysian nationals in a gruesome ISIS decapitation video.

Muhamad Wanndy Muhamad Jedi, 26, and Mohd Faris Anuar, 20, were identified by Malaysian police in a horrific 30-second video, in which Faris is seen gesturing toward the camera while Wanndy’s voice is heard while recording the clip.

The two are linked to a small group of Malaysian-Indonesian terrorists calling themselves the Majmu’ah al Arkhabiliy, operating under the banner of the Takfiri ISIS terrorist group in Syria and Iraq.

The disturbing video is that of the purported beheading of a Syrian man by another individual identified as an Arab. It was taken by Wanndy and uploaded to his social media account under the name of Abu Hamzah Al Fateh on February 20. Muhamad Wanndy went to Syria in January 2015; he was accompanied by his wife, Nor Mahmudah.

Read More: PressTV