BUTTERWORTH, Feb 10 — A man and his girlfriend were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here, today, with the murder of his mother last month.

The accused, J. Ambrose, 24, and S. Litha, 20, nodded their heads in understanding after the charge was read out before Magistrate, Aini Adilah Muhammad Faizal, but no plea was recorded as the murder case falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

According to the charge, both accused were jointly charged with committing the act which caused the death of the man’s mother, JP. Virginie, 60, at a house in Bagan Ajam, Butterworth between 6.43 pm and 8.37pm, on January 31 this year.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code and, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment of not less than 30 years and up to 40 years. If not sentenced to death, the accused may also face a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurameera Shahrul Azrin did not offer any bail as it was a non-bailable offence, while the two accused were unrepresented.

The court set April 14 as the date for re-mention and submission of chemist and post-mortem reports. — Bernama