Student murder: Two suspects to be charged with murder on July 10, say cops

KUALA LUMPUR: The main suspect in the murder of Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara, in Cyberjaya, and his girlfriend will be charged on Thursday (July 10).

Sepang OCPD Asst Comm Norhizam Bahaman (pic) said the 20-year-old main suspect and his girlfriend, who is also the victim’s housemate, will be charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

“The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has instructed that the two suspects be prosecuted for the murder.

“They will be brought to the Sepang Court on Thursday (July 10),” he said when contacted on Wednesday (July 9).

Earlier, it was reported that the main suspect was supposed to be charged on Tuesday (July 8) but it was postponed.

The prosecution was postponed pending instructions from the AGC.

It was reported that the main suspect was among four individuals detained in connection with the murder.

Three others detained were women, one of whom was the victim’s housemate.

Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan had previously said investigations revealed that the housemate had given the 20-year-old main suspect, who is her boyfriend, an access card and keys to the hostel unit prior to the murder.

“The main suspect had apparently stayed overnight previously.

“On the night of the incident, the suspect was given the access card and keys as he wanted to stay there again while the girlfriend had gone back to her hometown.

“However, he had ill intentions towards the victim that led him to hit her using an object, eventually murdering her,” he said.

The pathology report did not indicate any signs of rape, he added.

“We are still investigating further to find any proof of sexual assault.

“We are also investigating the motive behind the murder,” he said.

Comm Hussein said the main suspect stole several of the victim’s belongings, including her ATM card, laptop and mobile phone.

“We discovered that he had withdrawn RM200 using her ATM card,” he added.

He said the police will complete the investigation paper soon and refer it to the Deputy Public Prosecutor.

It was reported that a man and three women aged 19 and 20 years old were nabbed in Johor Baru, Johor and Gemencheh, Negri Sembilan on Thursday (June 26) and early Friday (June 27) morning in connection with the murder.

They were nabbed within 48 hours of the police report lodged on the incident.

It was previously reported that the victim, a Bachelor of Physiotherapy student, was found dead in a students’ hostel in Cyberjaya.

The victim, who was from Kuching, Sarawak, was discovered unconscious with visible injuries on her body by her friend at about 10am on Tuesday (June 24). The friend then immediately alerted the police.

She was living with five other students but they had returned home for the holidays on June 21, leaving her alone at the hostel as she was scheduled to sit for an upcoming examination.

The victim’s ATM card was among several valuables reported missing from the scene, including a laptop, mobile phone, and cash.

Cops also found no element of rape in the murder of the victim.

A post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.