SK Siri Sakti Vell, 22, and his friends, K Thirucelvan, 33, Shashipal Singh Manmuhan Singh, 36, N Thaneshwaran, 24, and P Ukenthiran, 35, together with another person who remains at large, were accused of murdering SK Kerisnan, 18.

They allegedly committed the offence in the vicinity of Sri Subramaniar Temple on Jalan Perpaduan Southward, Tanjung Rambutan, between 1am and 4am on May 12.

They were charged in the Ipoh magistrates’ court under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, which provides for the death penalty, or up to 40 years’ jail and no fewer than 12 strokes of the rotan, upon conviction, Bernama reported.

No plea was recorded after the charge was read before magistrate Norizan Riduan, as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

Deputy public prosecutor Zarris Sofea Zainudin appeared for the prosecution, while all the accused were unrepresented.

The court set July 26 for further case mention.