Hong Kong (AFP) - A British banker charged with the grisly murder of two young women flashed a smile as he left a Hong Kong court Monday, after his case was adjourned for psychiatric evaluation.
Rurik Jutting, the 29-year-old securities trader who until recently worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is accused of killing two young Indonesian women whose mutilated bodies were found at his upmarket apartment in the southern Chinese city.
As the bodies of the victims were due to be flown home to Indonesia, Jutting shot a grin from the back of a prison van following the hearing.
The case was "adjourned... for two psychiatric reports on the defendant's fitness to plead", said principal magistrate Bina Chainrai.
Reports by two different doctors are required under Hong Kong law, prosecutor Louise Wong told AFP.
Jutting is being held at Hong Kong's maximum-security Siu Lam psychiatric centre, Wong confirmed.
He will next appear on November 24.
Jutting, bearded and wearing black-rimmed glasses, remained impassive during the brief hearing at the Eastern Magistrate's court -- his second appearance after being charged with the murders a week ago.
- 'No consent' to reconstruction -
He spoke only once to say "I do" when the magistrate asked him whether he understood the arrangements.
Prosecutor Wong told the court that a reconstruction of the crime "has not yet been conducted because the defendant did not give consent".
Defence lawyer Tim Parker said that Jutting had not agreed to a reconstruction yet but may do in future.
Parker also applied to obtain video recordings of interviews police had conducted with Jutting.
Following the hearing, Hong Kong solicitor Michael Vidler, who is also acting in Jutting's defence, said it could be months before a plea is entered.
No comments:
Post a Comment