| Sugarcane Juice Seller Claims Trial To Murder Of Indonesian Maid |
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SHAH ALAM, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Sugarcane juice seller A. Murugan, 35, pleaded not guilty in the High Court here today to the murder of Indonesian maid, Muntik, at his house in Taman Sentosa, Klang, near here last month.
Judicial Commissioner Mohd Yazid Mustafa fixed 12 days from Jan 18 next year for the trial.
The court also fixed Dec 3 this year for mention of the case to enable Murugan engage a lawyer.
Murugan is charged with murdering Muntik, 36, at house No. 11, Jalan Datuk Yusof Shahbudin 6 in Taman Sentosa between Oct 18 and 20, under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
When the charge was read out to Murugan the first time in Tamil by the court interpreter, he nodded and pleaded guilty.
However, he changed his plea to not guilty after Mohd Yazid asked the interpreter to read out the charge again and explain to Murugan the implication of his pleading guilty, whereby he would be sentenced to death.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Manoj Kurup, who appeared for the prosecution, asked the court to fix an early hearing as the case had received wide media coverage in the country and abroad as it involved physical abuse of a maid.
Muntik, who was from Surabaya, died at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang on Oct 26 after failing to respond to treatment.
-- BERNAMA
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