Kim Jong Nam murder suspect gets lighter sentence

A Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother in 2017 pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a Malaysian court on Monday. Doan Thi Huong initially faced the death penalty if convicted of murder in Kim Jong Nam’s death, but a judge sentenced her Monday to three years and four months for voluntarily causing injury with a dangerous weapon. Huong’s lawyer said officials likely will release her next month after a sentence reduction for good behavior.

Authorities accused Huong and Indonesian woman Siti Aisyah of smearing a nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam’s face at the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia in February 2017. Both women insisted they thought they were taking part in a prank for a television show. Prosecutor Iskandar Ahmad told the court that the Malaysian attorney general agreed to the reduced sentenced after appeals from the Vietnamese government and Huong’s lawyers. Malaysian authorities released Aisyah in March after Indonesian authorities lobbied for her case.