An Indonesian woman accused of murdering the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Malaysia two years ago has been freed after the charges against her were dropped.

Various media outlets reported on Monday that the Malaysian prosecutor in the case requested the murder charge against Siti Aisyah to be dropped, without giving a reason.

A high court in Malaysia released the 27-year-old from prison on Monday, where she was quoted saying that she didn’t expect the charges to be dropped.

Aisyah's lawyer Gooi Soon Seng spoke to the press after his client was released.  

[Sound bite: Gooi Soon Seng, lawyer for suspect Siti Aisyah]
“Today the prosecution informed the court that they declined to further prosecute a case against Siti Aisyah under Section 254 of the CPC, which means they are no more interested to continue with the prosecution of Siti Aisyah. So on that score Siti Aisyah has been discharged from the court today. And we are grateful that the public prosecutor has in fact come to this conclusion because we still truly believe that she is merely a scapegoat and she is innocent.” 

Aisyah and Vietnamese woman Doan Thi Huong have been accused of smearing the VX nerve agent on Kim Jong-nam's face at the Kuala Lumpur airport in February of 2017.

The two women had denied murdering Kim, claiming they thought they were part of a television prank.

While North Korea has denied any involvement in the murder, four North Korean men have also been charged in the case. The men left Malaysia for the North immediately after the deadly attack.

[Photo : YONHAP News]