Lawyers for the two accused in the Kim Jong-nam murder trial told the magistrate's court in Sepang today that they have yet to be provided with the relevant documents and the CCTV footage to prepare their defence.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong appeared in court jointly charged with Jong-nam's murder on March 1. Jong-nam is the older brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un.

The defence counsel also complained of the release of the three North Korean suspects and for not being provided with their caution statements.

Sessions judge Haris Sham Mohamed Yassin, who sat as a magistrate, recorded their complaints and advised the prosecutors to assist but said he has no jurisdiction to make any orders.

DPP Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad said the relevant documents were incomplete and asked the court to give another mention date.

Haris Sham fixed May 30 for the next mention of the case.

Earlier, Siti Aisyah's (photo) lawyer Gooi Soon Seng and Doan's counsel, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and Naran Singh, voiced their concern that the release of the three North Korean suspects may prejudice their clients.

"The charge sheet states that there are four others at large and we want to know who they are," Naran told the court.

Gooi said his client had met a person called "James" before and the police had stated that James was one of the North Koreans who left the country.

He added that the chances of them returning to the country to testify are slim as they have not been offered to the defence.

Tight security at court

The proceedings today were carried out under tight security, with more than 200 Special Action Unit, Light Strike Force and police personnel manning the court complex and the two accused.

Gooi also expressed concern that the CCTV recordings could have been run over (re-recorded) with other footage, as is normally with CCTV recordings.

He said when Siti Aisyah was held in remand, her lawyers were not allowed to meet her and it was after the two were charged that they could meet her, but only for a short duration of 45 minutes.

Gooi (photo), who has been appointed by the Indonesian embassy, said they have sent correspondence to the investigating officer five times in the past and until today there has not been any reply to their request for the documents, the video footage or the Section 112 statements (made under the Criminal Procedure Code) of the three North Koreans.

"The investigating officer (IO) must act independently and fairly, not only for the prosecution but also to the defence.

"Hence, the CCTV recordings from various places, which can also be favourable to the defence, must be provided at the earliest opportunity. The inordinate delay is unacceptable.

"It is the duty of the IO to not mainly bolster that the prosecution's case is established but to also to establish unvarnished evidence for the defence, so that justice may prevail," Gooi added.

Therefore, copies of the CCTV recordings must also be given to the defence counsel.

'Court must ensure equality'

All this, Gooi said has to be done to prevent a trial by ambush and the court must also ensure there is equality so that the prosecution may not be given unfair advantages.

He pointed that the right to a fair trial should apply not only during the trial period but also during the pre-trial process.

Hisyam concurred with what Gooi said and reiterated that the departure of the three North Koreans from Malaysia may leave the defence of their Vietnamese client prejudiced.

Naran called for the prosecution to reveal the identities of the four accused who are at large during the next mention date.

"They should disclose or produce another charge sheet with their names," he said.

"The charge sheet must be clear," Naran said and he also expressed regret that until today, the other four suspects were not named.

DPP Iskandar said the prosecution was not at liberty, by law, to reveal what the North Koreans had told the police.

This, Iskandar told reporters later, was in keeping with the Federal Court ruling in the Anwar Ibrahim (Sodomy II) case that it is not compulsory for the prosecution to produce the cautioned statement.

As for the CCTV recordings, he said the defence should specify which CCTV recordings they were seeking.

He said some of the relevant documents from the various departments were not completed, which was why the prosecution was not able to give them to the defence.

Before Gooi and the other defence counsel could stand up to voice their concerns and objections, the charge sheets against Siti Aisyah and Doan were again read out and translated by the respective interpreters.

Siti Aisyah and Doan are charged with murdering Kim Chol (Jong-nam) at the Klia2 in Sepang on March 1.

They arrived at the court complex about 8am, under the heavy escort of the Special Action Unit personnel and other policemen.

Members of the foreign and local media had to go through a tight security check and had to surrender their handphones and other devices before going into the courtroom. They were also subjected to three screening checks.

Vietnamese and Indonesian embassy officials were present at the proceedings. No family members of Siti Aisyah and Doan were present.

Vietnamese Bar vice-president Nguyen Van Chien, who was also present, said they had great trust in the Malaysian lawyers handling the case

Nguyen also thanked the Malaysian Bar for their cooperation.