VX on Kim Jong-Nam 1.4 Times Lethal Dosage - Expert

SHAH ALAM (Selangor), Oct 10 (Bernama) - Malaysia is the second country ever involved with VX nerve agent attack, the High Court here was told Tuesday. Dr S.Raja, 42, who heads the Chemistry Department’s Chemical Analysis Centre laboratory said the first attack took place in Osaka, Japan in 1994, in which the chemical was sprayed on a victim's neck. In elaborating further about his analysis on the murder case of Kim Jong-nam or Kim Chol, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Dr Raja said he also found higher concentrations of VX on the collar and sleeves of the blazer worn by Kim Chol. Responding to deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin during examination-in-chief, he said based on his opinion the victim most likely wiped his face on the collar and sleeves of the blazer. He was testifying in the trial of two women, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, who are accused with four others still at large of murdering Kim Chol, 45, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) departure hall at 9am on Feb 13. The eighth prosecution witness when explaining the lethal potential of VX, said the concentration of the deadly VX nerve agent found on the skin of Jong Nam was 1.4 times the lethal dosage. "However I couldn't directly say if the VX concentration was enough to kill the victim, but the amount is about 1.4 times the lethal dosage. "Animal studies showed the lethal dosage is 0.142 mg per kg of body weight, and that 50 per cent of the tested population will die when exposed to this dosage on their skin," he said. Dr Raja also estimated the concentrate on Kim Chol’s facial skin to be 0.2 mg per kg of body weight. He said the estimated VX concentrate on the victim's eye was only 0.03 mg per kg of his body weight, “but that correlated to VX penetrating faster through the eye than through the skin”. During cross-examination by Siti Aisyah’s lawyer Gooi Soon Seng, Dr Raja said the blazer which was placed in a paper bag was returned to ASP Mohd Zaini Che Din on March 30 after he completed the analysis. "Actually I was told to send back a few items belonging to the victim to North Korea such as shoes, jeans, blazer, wallet, chain and watch," he said, adding, a piece of the blazer was still preserved. Dr Raja also said he used two types of detector to conduct the analysis, a FT Ramen and Hazmat ID, which were kept in the lab. -- BERNAMA