An Indonesian woman detained in Malaysia over the apparent assassination of the half-brother of North Korea's leader may have thought she was part of a reality television show, according to Indonesia's Vice-President.
Key points:
- Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla says Aisyah may have been a "victim of a victim"
- Her family in Indonesia say she was a "quiet girl" who "does not talk much"
- The Indonesian Government says it will provide consular assistance
Siti Aisyah is one of two women arrested in the Malaysian capital over the killing of Kim Jong-nam at one of Kuala Lumpur's international airports.
"I think she is a victim of a victim, so there are layers of victims here," Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla told the press in Jakarta.
He went on to state the woman may have thought she was appearing "on a reality television show".
"Even though she is a perpetrator she is also a victim, was she not? That's based on the sequence of events given, that's how the reports were given to us," he said.
The Vice-President's comments complicate an already extraordinary case.
The Indonesian woman allegedly involved in the murder had travelled to Malaysia on several occasions on short term visas, according to Indonesian immigration officials.
She was the second woman detained this week after being identified from CCTV vision and arrested.
The first was travelling on Vietnamese documents as Doan Thi Huong, and police have also arrested Ms Aisyah's boyfriend.
The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un died on his way to hospital in the Malaysian capital after allegedly being poisoned while he waited for a flight at the city's international airport.
Mr Kim was estranged from his family in Pyongyang and lived in exile.
The South Korean spy agency has said the North Korean regime was responsible for ordering the murder and the two women were suspected of killing him.
'There's not a need to bring our family down with her'
Indonesian police said they would not be summonsing Ms Aisyah's family for questioning in relation to the case.
At a small home in the west Jakarta suburb of Angke, her in-laws reacted with caution to the news.
They said she had been divorced from their son for a number of years.
"If she is in trouble that's fine," said Hendra Gunaway, who identified himself as the detained woman's brother-in-law.
"But there's not a need to bring our family down with her."
He said the woman's seven-year-old son still lived with his family in Jakarta, while her ex-husband now resided in Bangkok.
"She's actually a quiet girl, she does not talk much," he said.
She had a relationship with another man in Malaysia.
Immigration officials in Jakarta said the Indonesian citizen left for Malaysia from Batam Island on February 2.
"Based on the records in her passport, she's been several times in and out of Malaysia with a short visit visa," Foreign Ministry official Lalu Muhammad Iqbal said.
"Given that, it is clear that she is not an Indonesian migrant worker."
The Indonesian Government said it would provide legal advice and consular assistance to the woman.
"Indonesia always respects the law," Indonesia's chief Security Minister Wiranto said of the Indonesian woman's arrest .
"Let's wait for the process."
First posted February 18, 2017 07:13:05
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