Mohamed Badruldin Mohamed, 36, nodded that he understood the murder charge but pleaded not guilty to the charge of sodomising the baby.

Both charges were read before magistrate Muhammad Iskandar Zainol.

No plea was recorded from the accused for the murder charge as murder cases are under the purview of the High Court.

The case grabbed public attention after police said in a press conference yesterday that, among others, the baby was believed to have been murdered and sodomised by the husband of the babysitter in the bedroom of the apartment unit when his wife was sweeping outside.

Badruldin will have to spend Hari Raya behind bars as the court turned down his request for bail. Murder is a non-bailable offence.

For the first offence, he was charged with murdering the infant under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

For the second offence, he is accused of carrying out intercourse against the order of nature on the baby under Section 377C of the same code, which provides for a minimum of five years in jail and a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment as well as whipping if found guilty.

He is accused of carrying out the offences at the apartment unit in Projek Perumahan Rakyat Lembah Subang, here, between 8am and 3.30pm on April 27.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Alison Chan while the accused was not represented.

The court set June 15 for re-mention and submission of the chemist’s report.