SEPANG: The two accused in the murder of North Korean citizen Kim Jong-nam arrived at the Sepang court complex for the start of proceedings on Thursday.

The pair are expected to be produced before the magistrate’s court at 9am, where it is believed that the case could be transferred to the Shah Alam High Court for a joint trial.

Two separate police convoys carrying Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 29, and Indonesian national Siti Aisyah, 25, arrived at the courthouse just before 8am under heavy security.

They arrived several minutes apart and were briefly spotted exiting the police vehicles before being rushed into the compound via the court’s side entrance.

Criminal defence lawyers Hisham Teh Poh Teik and Datuk Naran Singh were seen arriving minutes later.

When queried by journalists, they said they were here to represent Doan.

On Wednesday, Hisham met Doan’s father, Doan Van Thanh, to discuss matters related to her case.

The father is currently in Malaysia together with Doan’s cousin, Tran Huy Hoang, 23, to visit her after a Vietnam-based NGO sponsored their trip.

Doan and Siti Aisyah are being charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murdering Jong-nam, who is the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at KLIA2 on Feb 13.

They face the mandatory death penalty if found guilty.

Similar to their first court appearance on March 1, Thursday’s proceedings are being conducted under maximum security, with the front gate of the courthouse being cordoned off to journalists and cameramen.

Only one reporter from each news organisation was allowed into the compound and subsequently into the courtroom to cover the proceedings.

They were also not allowed to carry any bags or handphones with them.

A considerably smaller group of newsmen gathered outside the courthouse this time around, as many foreign journalists have left the country following the release of Jong-nam’s body to North Korea on March 30.-thestar