Hong Kong double murder suspect Rurik Jutting to undergo psychiatric assessment
British banker suspected of killing two young women in his Wan Chai flat refuses to take part in reconstruction of the crime, court told
PUBLISHED : Monday, 10 November, 2014, 1:01pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 11 November, 2014, 4:14am
Chris Lau [email protected]
British banker Rurik Jutting smiles as he leaves court yesterday after his double-murder case was adjourned for two weeks. Photo: AFP
A British banker accused of murdering two women in his Wan Chai home is to undergo psychiatric assessment, according to a court order yesterday.
Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai sought two psychiatric reports on Rurik Jutting, 29, to determine whether he was fit to enter a plea.
"You should give full instructions to your lawyer," she told Jutting in Eastern Court.
The magistrate adjourned the case to November 24.
Jutting is accused of murdering Sumarti Ningsih, 25, and an unnamed woman. He was arrested on November 1 following the discovery of the corpses in his flat at J Residence on Johnston Road.
Wearing glasses and a black T-shirt, he was represented yesterday by solicitor Michael Vidler and barrister Timothy Parker.
The defendant was not asked to enter a plea.
Parker told the court he had not yet received a copy of the police's video interview of his client from the prosecution.
Prosecutor Louise Wong said Jutting had not agreed to take part in reconstructing the crime.
On November 3, prosecutors requested a reconstruction of the crime, a common practice in Hong Kong.
During that session, the court heard that police had declined his requests to contact the British consulate as well as a specific solicitor while he was in custody.
Police had told the former Bank of America employee to contact a lawyer from a list provided by the Law Society instead, the court heard.
With the case attracting extensive local and international media coverage, defence counsel had drawn the court's attention to a media report that included photographs of Jutting and the alleged female victims, references to his correspondence on a Facebook account and references to messages from one of the alleged victims. Chainrai reminded the press at the time to abide by laws governing what could be reported in court cases.
