UK banker ruled fit to enter plea in HK murder case

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong judge yesterday deemed a British banker charged with murdering two Indonesian women fit to enter a plea in his case, based on the results of psychiatric reports.

The judge in Rurik Jutting’s case also adjourned pre-trial court proceedings until July 6 to give the prosecution more time to analyse DNA and other forensic evidence. Prosecutor Louise Wong told the judge that the government lab needed 28 weeks to examine more than 200 items of evidence collected from the crime scene, but said investigators requested the case be given priority. Jutting’s lawyers said he did not object to the request for the lengthy adjournment.

No trial date has been set yet and Jutting did not enter a plea.

The bodies of two young women were found at Jutting’s 31st floor upscale apartment in the Wan Chai nightlife and red-light district, including one whose body was found stuffed into a suitcase that was left on the balcony.

Jutting, who attended Cambridge University and had worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, appeared in court unshaven and wearing the same black T-shirt with the words “New York” from previous appearances.

The victims in the case, which has exposed the extremes of inequality found in Hong Kong’s expatriate community, have been identified as Seneng Mujiasih, 29, who remained in Hong Kong after her domestic worker permit had lapsed, and Sumarti Ningsih, 25, who had come to the Asian financial hub on a tourist visa. AP