Banker in court over double HK murder
Print Edition
British banker Rurik Jutting appeared before a packed courtroom in Hong Kong yesterday accused of the murder of two young Indonesian women whose mutilated bodies were found in his apartment.
Wearing the same black T-shirt and dark-rimmed glasses as in previous hearings, Jutting, 30, returned to magistrates’ court after being deemed fit to stand trial in November following psychiatric tests.
The former Merrill Lynch Bank of America employee faces life in prison if he is convicted of the murder charges.
But the case was adjourned until May 8 after the prosecution asked for more time.
One-time securities trader Jutting, who has not yet entered a plea in the case, was attentive but looked tired. He spoke twice to say: “I do” when asked whether he understood the two charges against him.
Seneng Mujiasih and Sumarti Ningsih, both in their 20s, were found dead in Jutting’s upmarket flat in the early hours of November 1 after he called police.
Mujiasih was found in the living room, naked and with knife wounds to her legs and buttocks. The decaying body of Ningsih was found hours later in a suitcase on the balcony.
High-flying Cambridge graduate Jutting is being held at Hong Kong’s maximum security Siu Lam psychiatric prison.
Defence counsel Tim Parker accused the prosecution of “yo-yo-ing” for initially saying that they would need until July to present a case, then coming back to court, only to delay once more.
“It was an unnecessary waste of cost... My client was forced to come here,” said Parker, who added that the prosecution had sent the defence its committal papers — the case documents — too late.
Magistrate Jason Wan turned down an application for costs, saying that it was “not unusual” for a complex case to take time.
Once all the evidence is submitted, after being reviewed by both sides, the magistrate will commit the case to the High Court, which handles murder cases and where an official plea must be entered.
In a city generally regarded as safe by residents, the killings were unusually brutal and shone a spotlight on the seedy underbelly of the finance hub.
Police have said they were investigating whether the two women were sex workers after cocaine and sex toys were found in the apartment, not far from Hong Kong’s red-light district.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
