The four friends were charged with the murder of two men, whose bodies were found rolled up in canvas near a rubbish dump at Kampung Ujong Padang, Cheng, last month.

Lok Kian Seng, 47, Daniel Ho, 33, Woon Chee Weng, 44, and Lim Chien Voon, 41, merely nodded when the charges were read to them before magistrate Khairunnisak Hassni.

No plea was recorded as a murder charge falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

The four accused, and another man still at large, were charged with causing the death of Stanley Chew, 24, and Soo Yao Long, 26, at a house in Taman Paya Rumput Perdana, Melaka Tengah between July 7 and 10.

There were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the death sentence or an alternative punishment of 30 to 40 years in prison and not less than 12 strokes of the rotan.

Deputy public prosecutor Ehsan Nasarudin appeared for the prosecution, while all the accused were represented by counsel Nahdan Rengganathan Abdullah.

The court set Sept 12 for mention pending autopsy reports and other related documents.