KOTA KINABALU: A 71-year-old man was charged in a Magistrate’s Court here for the murder of his ex-fiancee, whose dismembered body was found in dustbins at several locations in the Indah Permai township in Sepanggar.
No plea was recorded from the accused, Piluta Samad, who was brought before Magistrate Dzul Elmy Yunus yesterday.
Piluta is charged with murdering Hamidah Husin @ Lisa, 44, on Feb 11, 2026, between 6pm and 7pm, at an unnumbered house in Kampung Sri Kenangan, Jalan Sepanggar here.
His case will be transferred to the High Court, where he will make his plea on the charge of murder framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
He faces the death penalty or life imprisonment of not less than 30 years and not more than 40 years.
The court fixed April 15 for mention of the case pending the production of DNA, pathology, forensic and chemist’s reports.
Piluta, who was unrepresented, was ordered to be further remanded in custody pending disposal of the case.
Deputy public prosecutor Kareena Kaur Gill Karamjit Singh appeared for the prosecution.
On Thursday, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun confirmed that police investigations into the brutal murder were completed and the prosecution will be filing charges.
He said the key suspect’s three children – a son and two daughters – who were detained by police could be possible prosecution witnesses.
On Feb 12, City Hall garbage collectors discovered human body parts while carrying out routine duties in Indah Permai, Sepanggar, at about 6.30am.
Police then arrested the key suspect at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here the same evening, where he was being treated for a health condition.
The victim is a Filipino holding an Immigration Stay Pass issued to refugees and their families who fled the civil war in southern Philippines in the 1970s.
