A medical officer told the High Court here today that Kim Jong-nam, the estranged brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had problems breathing due to his low cholinesterase enzyme level that could result in death.

Dr Nur Suraya Jamalludin from the Pathology Department of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, who confirmed the result of the cholinesterase test on Jong-nam, said the lack of the enzyme, which controls muscle movement, could cause wheezing in the patient’s lungs.

She said from results of an analysis conducted by a science officer at the department, she confirmed that Jong-nam’s cholinesterase enzyme was not at the normal level, which was 344 units per litre.

Nur Suraya, the 22nd witness, was responding to a question by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin during examination in chief in the trial of Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong, 28, who are charged with four others still at large with murdering Jong-nam, 45, at the Departure Hall of Kuala Lumpur 2 at 9am on Feb 13 this year.

After confirming the result of the cholinesterase enzyme on Jong-nam, she then handed it to her superior, chemical pathologist Dr Norashikin Othman.

Meanwhile, HKL forensic science officer Lai Phoh Soon, 31, said he did the flushing process of Jong-nam’s blood to get the serum for the analysis.

He said the serum, which is the liquid layer of the blood, was placed in a bottle that was labelled with the deceased’s name and then given to a science officer at the HKL’s Pathology Department, Nurulhuda Kaidar, 31, following an instruction by HKL Medical Forensic Department head Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood last Feb 16.

The hearing before judge Azmi Ariffin continues tomorrow.

- Bernama