Harian Metro reported that no plea was recorded from Dinesh Kumar Mandal, 35, as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

He nodded after the charges against him were read in Hindi before magistrate Nurul Rasyidah Akit.

Dinesh was accused of murdering Sariya Che Hin, 51, and Nur Afrina Alisha Abdul Rahim, 11, between 12.30pm and 7.30pm at a house in Kampung Sekolah Juru.

The charges under Section 302 of the Penal Code provide for the death sentence, or 30 to 40 years’ imprisonment and no less than 12 strokes of the rotan.

The prosecution was managed by deputy public prosecutor Anis Suhada Rosli while Dinesh was unrepresented.

The court did not allow bail for Dinesh, and set Jan 26 next year for the handover of the forensics, chemistry and autopsy reports.