The Malaysian Insight

A PATHOLOGIST from Kuala Lumpur Hospital told the court today that a toxicology test on samples from Kim Jong-nam’s body showed low levels of an enzyme called cholinesterase, consistent with poisoning from nerve agents and insecticides.

Dr Norashikin Othman said Kim’s cholinesterase level was very low compared with a normal and healthy human.

“Kim’s cholinesterase level was 344 and that is low… meanwhile, the reading of the enzyme in the samples taken from Siti Aisyah and Doan (Thi Huong) was normal,” she said in reply to the prosecutor this morning.

She earlier told the court that the cholinesterase level in a normal man would be between 5,320 and 12,290.

She also concurred with prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin that the VX nerve agent can affect the heart and lung muscle as well as the glands controlling the saliva and mucus.

Cholinesterase is the enzyme that controls muscle. Its function is to break the neurotransmitter so that the contraction and relaxation of the muscle can happen smoothly.

The lack of such an enzyme will lead to organ failure.

Dr Norashikin said VX can cause constrictions of the pupils.

DPP Shaharuddin also asked how lethal was VX and Dr Norashikin said it depended on many factors.

“It depends on the dosage, concentration of the chemical, the length of the exposure, how the poison was consumed and also the decontamination process.”

She gave the example that one can decontaminate by washing the hands with soap or under running water.

Dr Norashikin is the fifth witness in the Kim Jong-nam murder trial at the Shah Alam High Court.

The prosecutor will be calling its sixth witness, pathologist Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood, after the lunch break.

The court went on early lunch break to allow a technician to fix the court’s recording system.

The court will resume at 2pm. – October 3, 2017.