Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi speaks during a press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Feb. 16. 2017. (Xinhua)
Malaysian police said Thursday they had arrested a Malaysian man to assist their investigation in the death of Kim Jong Nam, half-brother of Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Muhammad Farid Bin Jalaluddin, 26, was arrested by police on Wednesday evening, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement.
Jalaluddin has been identified as the boyfriend of the second female suspect, an Indonesian passport bearer who was arrested Thursday morning.
Bakar said the suspect is currently remanded in custody to assist investigation.
Abdul Samah Mat, the police chief of Selangor state, told Xinhua earlier that the suspect was arrested in Ampang city of Selangor state.
He said that information learnt from the boyfriend led to the arrest of "Siti Aishah," the second suspect, who along with the first was seen in CCTV footage after Kim's death.
The local police chief clarified that they only arrested the man to let him assist the investigation.
According to Mat, police have been investigating Kim's death as a murder case instead of sudden death but they have not established connection between the two female suspects.
The first female suspect, holding a Vietnamese passport, was arrested Wednesday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's second terminal, where the deceased Kim looked for help after feeling unwell on Monday.
Kim died later enroute to hospital. His body was taken to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday for post mortem to ascertain the cause of his death.
The results of the post mortem are yet to be released.
