KOTA KINABALU: A man who was recently arrested over the fatal stabbing of a woman in a shopping mall here was charged with murder today.
Chung King Fung @ Haider Daniel Chung, 32, was accused of murdering Nurul Ain Silien, 21, at the Polar Ice Cream shop lot, at Jesselton Mall in Jalan Haji Saman here.
The charge carries the death penalty upon conviction under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
No plea was taken from Chung who works as a personal assistant of an international construction company after the charge was read out to him before magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles.
Chung, who was clad in a black T-shirt with both hands bandaged believed to be due to self-harm injury, appeared calm in court today.
Inspector Kelvan Elson Maik who prosecuted the case applied for a mention date pending the post-mortem report from the hospital as well as DNA and forensic reports from the chemist department.
He also applied for the accused to remain in custody as the offence is non-bailable.
Counsel Chin Teck Ming and Jul Hamri Jumhani who represented Chung understood but wanted the prosecution to speed up the case.
Counsel Nabila Norsahar held a watching brief for the victim's family.
The court fixed July 11, for further mention of the case and ordered the accused to be remanded further.
Meanwhile, the victim's mother, Datuk Siti Aminah Jabarkhan who was present in court today told reporters that her daughter (the late victim) was never officially engaged with the accused.
She also told the media that they (the accused and the late victim) only knew each other for less than a year.
It was reported on May 29 that the police had arrested the accused, believed to be the victim's ex-fiance.
In the incident, the victim was found lying in a pool of blood by the public, with several stab wounds to her body.
According to Kota Kinabalu district deputy police chief Superintendent Kalsom Idris, the woman was still breathing when the police arrived.
However, the victim soon succumbed to her injuries despite best efforts by medical officers who tried to resuscitate the woman, she said.
On May 30, it was reported that the victim had called off the engagement before the incident.
The accused was alleged to have harassed the victim, even looking for her at her workplace as he was upset over the break-off.