The killing of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader, at a Malaysian airport has revived fascination in the poisoner’s methods.
BANGKOK: From the courtiers of Ancient Greece to Soviet spies and maybe now North Korean agents, poison has a long history as a weapon of murder, favoured by assassins for its stealthy delivery of the fatal blow.
The killing of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of the North Korean leader, at a Malaysian airport has revived fascination in the poisoner’s methods.
In a story that could be cribbed straight from a spy novel, intelligence chiefs in South Korea say female agents dispatched by their secretive northern neighbour administered the lethal dose, with reports suggesting a toxin was sprayed in his face.
An autopsy was being carried out Wednesday (Feb 15).
A would-be poisoner can choose from a catalogue of deadly chemicals, some of which are relatively easy to obtain.
Ricin – naturally occurring in castor oil plant seeds – and thallium (rat poison) are notorious for their murderous properties. Arsenic delivers a slow and miserable death, while strychnine induces extreme body spasms as the victim’s respiratory system collapses.
But « cyanide is the fastest killer and the easiest to detect, its pathology appears all over the body, » said Porntip Rojanasunan a forensic expert and adviser to Thailand’s Justice Ministry.
She said the victim’s « bright red blood » in post-mortem is the telltale sign of a potential cyanide poisoning.
