Indonesia confirms citizen held over Kim Jong-nam death

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) – An Indonesian government figure has confirmed one of the country’s citizens has been detained by Malaysian police in connection with the recent death of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korea’s leader.

Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, director of the Protection of Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that Siti Aishah, 25, had been arrested by the Malaysian authorities.

"The Indonesian embassy has been verified, based on the data it has… the woman is our citizen," Iqbal said in a statement on Thursday.

He said the government was coordinating with the Malaysian authorities and had requested consular access to accompany the suspect in legal proceedings.

Siti Aishah, who holds an Indonesian passport, was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Also arrested was a woman carrying a Vietnamese passport, Doan Thi Huong, 28.

Kim Jong-nam, 46, died in Malaysia on Monday. He was allegedly assaulted by two women while at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport while waiting to fly to Macau to meet his family.

The Malaysian authorities are still investigating the case.