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KUALA LUMPUR: Traces of the nerve agent VX were found on the clothing of the two women on trial for murdering Kim Jong Nam, Malaysia's foremost chemical weapons expert testified in court on Thursday (Oct 5).



Degradation products of VX were also found on the fingernails of one of the women, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong.



Dr Raja Subramaniam, head of laboratories at the Centre for Analysis of Chemical Weapon Agents at Malaysia's Department of Chemistry, said he had found VX and other markers of the poison on the sleeves of both women's clothing.



He also testified that, based on research, the same amount of VX would be 26 times less potent on palms of human beings as compared to their cheeks.

Huong and and Indonesian Siti Aisyah are accused of smearing the face of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader, with VX using their bare hands at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) on Feb 13.



On Monday, a pathologist had testified that the two suspects had normal levels of the cholinesterase enzyme, which typically would drop to low levels had they been poisoned with an organophosphate such as nerve agents or insecticide.





Kim - who the prosecution referred to as Kim Chol, the name on his passport - had only 344 units per litre.



The prosecution also asked Dr Subramaniam, the only Malaysian to hold a PHD in chemical weapons analysis, about how easy it would be to decontaminate from VX, a substance which he said could kill with even one drop in its purest state.



"We have to wash with running water plus physical scrubbing for a certain period of time before you get medical assistance," he said.



The chemist said this would have to be done within a short period of time.



"If done within 15 minutes it could cause no effect, or a delayed effect," he said.

HOW DID VX GET INTO MALAYSIA?

The cross examination also revealed clues on how VX - classified as a weapon of mass destruction - could have made it into Malaysia.



Dr Subramaniam said the clear and odourless substance would go undetected unless there are special machines, which KLIA2 did not have, to his knowledge.



He agreed with the prosecution's suggestion it could even be transported undetected in a mineral water bottle. When asked by the prosecution whether it could be brought from North Korea to Malaysia without being detected, Dr Subramaniam said: "Yes."