GEORGE TOWN: A security guard was charged at the Magistrate's Court here today with the murder of a chef, last Saturday.
No plea was recorded from Ong Lai Seng, 65, when the charge was read to him in Mandarin by the court interpreter before magistrate Jamaliah Abd Manap.
He is alleged to have killed Chuah Kok Seong, 42, at the guard house of Block 8 of the Desa May apartments in Persiaran Paya Terubong here at about 8.50pm on Dec 5.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Deputy public prosecutor Yazid Mustaqim Roslan prosecuted, while lawyer Teh Ee Teng appeared for the accused.
Yazid requested that the court fix another date for the case to be transferred to the High Court.
"We still need some documents to transfer the case to the High Court," he said.
Jamaliah then set Jan 27 for mention.
Outside the court, Ong's relatives greeted him after the proceedings.
He appeared calm throughout.
Chuah, a chef, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Penang Hospital after being stabbed 10 times at his apartment block in Paya Terubong here, last Saturday.
The assailant, a 65-year-old security guard and fellow tenant at the apartment block, was arrested at his unit at about 10.30pm the same night.
A knife, believed to be the murder weapon, was seized.
It is learnt that the victim, a 42-year-old father of two, had gone to the apartment block's guard house at 8pm to meet with the security guard when the incident occurred.
Unable to withstand the victim's constant harassment and threats, the suspect whipped out a knife and stabbed the deceased.
An initial probe found that the deceased had been stabbed 10 times.