KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — A 50-year-old unemployed man was charged in the Magistrates’ Court in Petaling Jaya today with the murder of an interior designer who was stabbed 20 times in an apartment unit in Bandar Sri Damansara last month.

Lim Wah Siong nodded in understanding but did not enter a plea after the charge was read to him in Mandarin before Magistrate Shahril Anuar Ahmad Mustapha, according to a report published in Kosmo! Online today.

No plea was recorded as it falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

According to the charge, Wah Siong is accused of murdering Muhammad Sharqawi Abu Bakar, 36, at an apartment unit on Persiaran Meranti, Bandar Sri Damansara, at 9pm on September 14.

The charge was brought under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty upon conviction.

The court then set November 8 for the mention of the case regarding the chemical and post-mortem reports.

During the proceedings, the prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurain Syafiqeen Mohd. Rozi, while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.

On September 16, a man was reported dead after being stabbed 20 times in an incident at an apartment in Bandar Sri Damansara.

Petaling Jaya District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Shahrulnizam Jaafar stated that they received a report about the incident at 1am that day.

He said the victim’s neighbour filed the report after becoming concerned for the victim’s safety upon hearing a fight with an unknown individual.

The altercation was heard around 11pm, and the neighbour did not see the victim leave his residence after the incident.

"A police team was dispatched to the scene and found a 36-year-old man lifeless,” he said.

He said there were stab wounds believed to have been inflicted by an unidentified individual.

Twenty stab wounds were detected, including five to the ribs, six to the chest, and nine to the wrist.

Further checks revealed that the victim worked as a home interior designer, lived alone, and had just purchased the property last year.

He said authorities do not rule out the possibility that the incident began as a burglary before escalating into robbery that led to death.