A chemist says he found a byproduct of VX nerve agent on the shirt of the Indonesian woman on trial in Malaysia for the murder of the half brother of North Korea’s leader.
The testimony Thursday was the first evidence linking VX to either of the two suspects. Previous witnesses have testified the nerve agent was found on Kim Jong Nam’s body and belongings and have identified acute VX poisoning as the cause of Kim’s death.
Government chemist Raja Subramaniam told the court he found VX acid, a byproduct of the banned chemical weapon, on Siti Aisyah’s sleeveless T-shirt. He further testified that he found traces of VX nerve agent and its precursors on the clothing of the Vietnamese suspect, Doan Thi Huong.
His testimony has now linked VX to both women accused of smearing Kim Jong Nam’s face with poison in a brazen assassination at the Kuala Lumpur airport in February.
Raja said VX will degrade when it reacts with water, leaving detectable byproducts, and a person can fully decontaminate their hands by washing and scrubbing.
