Ooi Chin Leng, 38, nodded when the charge was read to him in Mandarin before magistrate Aini Adilah Faizal at the Butterworth magistrates’ court, reported Berita Harian.

No plea was recorded as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

According to the charge, Ooi, along with an accomplice who is still at large, allegedly murdered Fouzi Hussen, 24, at Taman Desa Murni, Sungai Dua, at 5.25am on Jan 24, 2013.

The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, provides for the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years. If not sentenced to death, Ooi may also be subject to not less than 12 strokes of the cane.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurameera Shahrul Azrin prosecuted while Ooi was unrepresented.

Nurameera did not offer bail and asked the court to set a date for Ooi’s DNA test report as the case was from 2013 and he had just been arrested.

Aini Adilah denied bail and set July 23 for the next mention of the case, including Ooi’s DNA profiling.