M Sri Darvien and his partner D Thineswary nodded after the charges were read before magistrate Khairatul Animah Jelani.

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

University of Cyberjaya student Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara, 20, was found dead in her condominium unit by a friend at about 10am on June 24.

She had been staying in the unit with five other students, but her housemates had reportedly returned to their hometowns for the holidays on June 21.

According to the charge sheet, Sri Darvien was accused of murdering Maniishapriet between 9.11pm and 11.31pm on June 23.

He was charged with murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years and not less than 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.

Thineswary was charged with abetting Sri Darvien under Section 109 of the Penal Code read together with Section 302, which carries the same penalties.

No bail was granted. The court set Sept 11 for the next mention of the case, for the submission of the post-mortem and chemical analysis reports.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin. Sri Darvien was represented by M Manoharan while Thineswary was represented by Abu Bakar Isa Ramat.

Earlier, the two accused arrived at the Sepang magistrates’ court under tight police supervision.