FIVE men were charged in a magistrate’s court in Ipoh today with the murder of a man, whose body was found floating in Sungai Kinta, Pasir Puteh, on May 26.

However, no plea was recorded from the accused, aged between 26 and 40, after the charge was read out to them before magistrate Nur Melati Diana Abd Wahab as the case comes under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

S. Jeyenthiran, 34; S. Simeon, 31; Basharuddin Hammersla, 26; T. Selvamani, 40; and V. Thiruganesh, 36, together with two other individuals still at large, are alleged to have murdered A. Preshna, 40, in Jalan Che Puteh, Ipoh, between 7.30am and 5.30pm on May 23.

The charge was framed under section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with section 34 of the same law, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Jeyenthiran, Simeon, Basharuddin and Selvamani were also charged with kidnapping Preshna in order to murder him, under section 364 of the Penal Code, read together with section 34 of the same code, which provides for a death sentence or maximum 30 years’ jail and whipping, if convicted.

They are alleged to have committed the offence in an abandoned building in Ipoh at 7.30am on the same day.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor K. Darinee while the accused were represented by lawyer K. Nahtan and Charan Singh.

The court set August 4 for mention.

Meanwhile, Ipoh district police chief ACP A. Asmadi Abdul Aziz, in a statement today, said police are tracking down two more people to assist in investigations into the murder case.

The two are Harjit Singh Terlok Singh, also known as Kishen, 25, whose last known address is Menglembu, Ipoh, and M. Muralitharan, or Murali, 23, from Tanjung Rambutan. – Bernama, June 11, 2021.