Final suspect in Kim Jong Nam’s death will not face murder charge, court says

“I am happy,” Huong, 30, told reporters as she left the courtroom, adding that she thought it was a fair outcome.While handing out a jail term short of the maximum 10 years the new charge carried, the judge told Huong she was “very, very lucky” and wished her “all the best.” Vietnamese officials in the courtroom cheered when the decision was announced.The move follows the Malaysian attorney general’s decision to drop the murder case against Aisyah on March 11 following high-level lobbying from Indonesia’s government. Huong sought to be acquitted after Aisyah was freed, but prosecutors rejected her request.WATCH BELOW: Malaysia frees Indonesian suspect in Kim Jong Nam’s death Prosecutor Iskandar Ahmad told the court that the attorney general offered the reduced charge to Huong following pleas from the Vietnamese government and her lawyers.The original charge had alleged that the two women colluded with four North Koreans to murder Kim with VX nerve agent as he was passing through the airport.A High Court judge last August found there was enough evidence to infer that Aisyah, Huong and the four North Koreans engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” to kill Kim and called on the two women to present their defence.Huong’s lawyer told the court Monday that her guilty plea to the lesser charge showed she “has taken responsibility” for her actions. In asking for a lenient sentence, he also told the court that her move saved judicial time.WATCH BELOW: Women accused in Kim Jong Nam’s death appear in court in January 2018 Hisyam had urged the judge to take into account Huong’s honesty, her acceptance of responsibility and the acquittal of her co-defendant. “She is neither a criminal nor has the propensity to commit a crime,” the lawyer said.Huong, the youngest of five children, has a promising future with a degree in accounting, but she is also “naive and gullible,” he said.Hisyam said the four North Korean suspects still at large were the “real assassins.”They “exploited her weakness and manipulated her to carry out their evil designs under the camouflage of funny videos and pranks,” he said.The judge said he took into account the gravity of the offence and also the fact that Huong was remorseful and a first offender. He said the sentence “would serve the interest of justice.”WATCH BELOW: Airport footage purportedly shows poisoning of Kim Jong Nam Before the sentencing, Vietnam’s ambassador to Malaysia, Le Quy Quynh, said he expected Huong to be freed immediately. After the sentencing, he said, “I am highly appreciative that she will be released very soon but I want to emphasize that she is a victim like the Indonesian.”Hisyam told reporters later that Huong wasn’t being fairly treated compared to Aisyah, but that she pleaded guilty because she wanted to walk free as soon as possible.Huong’s father, Doan Van Thanh, who attended the hearing, said he was delighted that she will be soon be free.As Huong was being escorted out of the court building, she shouted to reporters: “It’s very good. I love you.” She told reporters earlier that she wants to “sing and act” when she returns to Vietnam.