Ri Jong Chol, a North Korean arrested in the probe into last week's murder of the half-brother of the isolated state's leader, lived in Malaysia for more than three years without working at the company registered on his employment permit or receiving a salary.
Ri, 47, had a Malaysian work visa that showed he was an employee of Tombo Enterprise. But the owner of the company said he never worked a day there or drew a salary from the small herbal medicine firm.
Chong Ah Kow said he facilitated Ri's working visa by stating in supporting documents that he was a product development manager in the company's IT department earning 5,500 ringgit ($1,230) per month. The visa was renewed once, he said, in June 2016.