Malaysia's attorney general said on Thursday that a Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) man, who was arrested as a suspect following the airport killing, will be released and deported.
Ri Jong Chol, the 47-year-old DPRK man who worked at a local anti-cancer drug company in Malaysia, was arrested by the police on Feb. 17 for suspected involvement in the airport case, in which a DPRK man with the passport name of "Kim Chol" was poisoned with lethal VX nerve agent. Ri was remanded for two weeks in police custody. The remand will expire on Friday.
Malaysia's Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali did not elaborate on the reasons of the release, but local media said it was due to a lack of evidence. During the investigation, the police did not reveal the connections between him and four other suspects believed to have fled the country.
On Wednesday, the two female suspects who carried out the attack, one from Indonesia and one Vietnamese, were charged with murder. If convicted, the two will face death sentence.
