Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim, in confirming this, told FMT police received the request but could not oblige as Malaysian police needed to conduct a proper post-mortem on the body before it could be released to the rightful party.

“The incident happened here and we have to conduct a thorough investigation and the post-mortem is part of the procedure.”

He said the deceased’s immediate family members were the rightful party to claim the body.

“Who to claim? We will get right to it after all the procedures are completed. Right now, let us do our job,” said Rashid.

Police earlier today arrested a woman with a Vietnamese passport at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2).

She was arrested while trying to leave the country for Vietnam.

The Star reported the woman was detained at 9am today in Sepang.

The news portal quoted Rashid as saying she was the same woman caught on closed circuit television video footage at the airport.

She is currently being held at the Selangor police headquarters

Rashid told FMT the female suspect could help police in investigating the case.

Rashid said police believed she had a “strong” connection to the case.

“We are now looking for a few more people to facilitate investigations.”

Police have also interviewed a taxi driver who had ferried the suspects in the case to another location.

“He is not involved. We have already interviewed him,” said Rashid.

The death of Jong Nam has been classified as sudden death pending his post-mortem report.

Jong Nam, aged 46, was at klia2 waiting for his 9am flight to Macau on Monday when a woman sprayed a liquid and covered his face with cloth from behind.

His eyes began smarting and he felt dizzy. He sought assistance from the service counter.

The receptionist took him to a clinic at the airport and an ambulance was summoned to send him to the Putrajaya Hospital. However, he died on the way to hospital.

Police said the man was travelling on a passport bearing the name Kim Chol, from Pyongyang. Police are checking if he was using a forged passport.

Sources said the deceased had a resemblance to Jong Nam but only fingerprints and a DNA test could confirm if he was indeed the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Another source said Kim Chol is the name that Jong Nam usually used on his passport when travelling.