Doan Thi Huong arrives at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 3

Doan Thi Huong arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 10pm on Friday after being freed from a prison in Malaysia's Selangor State at 7.20am the same day.

Huong, wearing jeans, long coat and sunglasses, constantly smiled as she was met by well-wishers and journalists who came to see her at the airport. Huong's father and brother were also present to welcome her.

She was accompanied by a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Vietnamese lawyer, and three Malaysian lawyers.

Huong answered questions from the media for about five minutes and then quickly got on a car and left with her family members.

Huong said she was very grateful to the Vietnamese and Malaysian governments and some lawyers both from Malaysia and Vietnam for their work.

"I was treated well in prison in Malaysia," she said. "I want to send my sincere thanks to everyone for that."

The 30-year-old former hair salon worker said she still wanted to follow her dream to become an actress and wished to have a chance to return to Malaysia again.

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Doan Thi Huong and Indonesian Siti Aisyah were put on trial for murdering the holder of a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea passport with the name of Kim Chol at Kuala Lumpur Airport in October 2017 and faced death by hanging if convicted.

The two women always denied having committed murder, arguing that they were pawns in a plan hatched by North Korean agents who fled Malaysia after the killing.

The defence stage of the case was due to start in March, but in a shock move, prosecutors announced they were withdrawing the murder charge against Aisyah, 27, and she flew back to Jakarta.

Her release followed intense diplomatic pressure from Indonesia, including from President Joko Widodo.

Vietnam then stepped up pressure for Huong's murder charge to be dropped. Their initial request was refused, but at the start of April prosecutors offered her a reduced charge, paving the way for her release. Dtinews