Man charged with murdering 13-year-old girl

MIRI: A furniture shop worker has been charged in the Miri court Wednesday (Jan 17) with murdering a 13-year-old girl schoolgirl, the youngest daughter of his girlfriend.

The accused, Yap Kak Min, 33, was brought to court and charged before Sessions Court Judge Steve Ritikos.

The prosecution, led by Prosecuting Officer Asst Supt Mary Ong cited the murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death sentence upon conviction.

The accused was unrepresented and no plea was recorded.

The charge sheet said that he murdered the girl at a house in Desa Pujut, Kuala Baram between 9am to 5pm on Jan 9.

The Judge fixed Feb 22 for the case to be mentioned again after the prosecution said that they were still waiting for the forensic and post-mortem reports.

The Judge ordered the accused to be placed in the Lambir Prison until the hearing as bail is not allowed in murder cases.

On Jan 9, the body of the Form One female student was found in the boot of the suspect's car, stopped near a forested area along the Kuala Baram road.

The suspect was standing over his opened car boot, but slammed it close and sped off upon spotting the policemen.

A chase ensued and the suspect was arrested after the girl's body was found in the boot during a search.

An initial probe showed that the suspect could have killed the girl earlier, placed her body in the boot and was about to dump her body in the forest when the police showed up.