KOTA BHARU: A 19-year-old college student accused of murdering Nurfisya Zulkifly, whose body was found with 61 stab wounds in Ketereh earlier this month, has been charged in the Magistrate’s Court.
Muhammad Hazim Muhammad nodded in understanding after the charge was read before Magistrate Rais Imran Hamid on Tuesday (May 12).
He was charged with murdering Kolej Poly-Tech MARA student Nurfisya, 19, between 11.40pm on April 30 and 12.20am on May 1 at Jalan Pengkalan Piah in Ketereh.
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The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, and not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane if the death sentence is not imposed.
No plea was recorded, as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
The prosecution was led by Kelantan State Prosecution director Wan Azimah Yaacob, assisted by deputy public prosecutors Muhamad Nadzir Abdullah and Ahmad Naabil Mohamed Asri, while the accused was represented by lawyer Alias Ibrahim.
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The court, which denied bail, set July 2 for case management and submission of the forensic report.
On May 1, villagers passing through the area found the victim lying by the roadside near a paddy field in a pool of blood and alerted the police.
A post-mortem found 61 stab wounds on the victim’s body and face, with the cause of death determined to be multiple stab wounds to the chest.
Police later arrested four individuals, including two 19-year-old men, among them the accused.
