According to a report in the New Straits Times, Siti Aishah said this to Indonesian deputy ambassador to Malaysia, Andreano Erwin, during a 30-minute interview he had with her at the Cyberjaya police station this morning.
“She said she was paid RM400 for her activities. She didn’t know that it was poison. That is the answer from her.
“She only said in general that somebody had asked her to do (it) and she didn’t know what would happen next,” the English daily quoting him as saying.
Siti was also rather vague about the names of the individuals who approached her for the “prank” and could not be sure if they were Japanese or Korean.
“She mentioned some names, but I did not recognise them. The names were very general… James, Jang, that’s it.
“They were maybe Japanese or Korean.
“She also said that she did not know any Vietnamese person,” NST quoted Andreano as saying.
Siti told Andreano that she thought the substance handed to her for the “prank” was baby oil.
This was in sharp contrast to a statement by Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, who said Siti and her Vietnamese accomplice knew they were handling poison.
Andreano said that Siti looked physically healthy and was able to answer all questions asked of her although he could not ascertain for himself her emotional state.
“We did not see any effects of the poison. Emotionally, we do not know, will need more checks for that,” he said.
During the interview, Indonesian authorities took samples of Siti’s fingerprints for confirmation that the passport she was carrying was indeed hers.
“The data has been sent to Indonesia via satellite. Hopefully, in one day, we will get the match,” he said.
Also present this morning were officials from the Vietnamese Embassy who came to interview Doan Thi Huong, the second female suspect in the assassination of Jong Nam.
They however refused to speak to the media.
Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was assassinated on Feb 13 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, when the two women approached him, one spraying poison that contained the VX nerve agent on him, while another covered his face with a piece of cloth.
Despite seeking help from the airport customer service, Jong Nam died on the way to Putrajaya Hospital.