SEPANG: A couple has been hauled to the Magistrate’s Court here over last month’s murder of 20-year-old student Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara.
Odd-job worker M. Sri Darvien, 19, was charged with committing the murder of Maniishapriet at a condominium in Cyberjaya between 9.11pm and 11.31pm on June 23.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code and faces the death sentence or imprisonment between 30 and 40 years, and liable for whipping, if convicted.
Darvien said he understood the charge after it was read out before magistrate Khairatul Animah Jelani yesterday.
His girlfriend D. Thineswary, also 19, was accused of abetting him in the murder at 12.30pm at the same place and day.
The foundation year student was charged under Section 109 of the Penal Code read together with Section 302 of the same Code.
The accused faces the death sentence or imprisonment between 30 and 40 years, if convicted.
Hauled to court: Darvien being escorted by a cop as he arrives at the Sepang Magistrate’s Court. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
No plea was recorded from both accused, who sat in the same dock, as the cases are under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin said the prosecution was not offering bail.
Lawyers M. Manoharan and Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff, who represented Darvien and Thineswary respectively, sought for the case to be expedited.
Manoharan asked the prosecution to transfer the case to the High Court as soon as possible while Mohamed Baharudeen told the magistrate that this case had become viral.
Raja Zaizul Faridah, in her reply, said the prosecution required some time to obtain documents in the case.
“After we receive these documents and hand it over to the defence, then only we will seek a case transfer to the High Court,” she said.
Khairatul Animah fixed the case for mention on Sept 11.
Lawyer Datuk Rajpal Singh held watching brief for the victim’s family.
It was previously reported that Maniishapriet, a physiotherapy undergraduate, was found dead in a student hostel in Cyberjaya.
She was discovered at about 10am on June 24 by a friend who immediately alerted the police.
Maniishapriet was living with five other students who had gone home for the holidays.
As such, she had been alone at the hostel.
A post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
