Lu Chieng Kiong, 36, nodded after the charge was read to him before senior assistant registrar Abdurrahman Abrar Jarni, Harian Metro reported.

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

The court set Oct 31 for remention of the case after denying the accused bail.

According to the charge sheet, Lu was involved, along with 11 others still at large, in an unlawful assembly that resulted in the death of Francis Chang Ze, 22, at 4.30am on Dec 1 last year.

He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 149 of the same code, punishable with the death penalty or 30 to 40 years’ imprisonment and no less than 12 strokes of the rotan, if convicted.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Jean Siow, while Lu was represented by lawyers Shankar Ram Asnani and Lim Lian Kee.