British banker's murder trial in Hong Kong adjourned until July

November 24, 2014 03:46 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 04:44 pm IST - HONG KONG

Rurik George Caton Jutting, a British banker charged with two counts of murder after police found the bodies of two women in his apartment, sits in the back row of a prison bus as he arrives at the Eastern Law Courts in Hong Kong on Monday.

Rurik George Caton Jutting, a British banker charged with two counts of murder after police found the bodies of two women in his apartment, sits in the back row of a prison bus as he arrives at the Eastern Law Courts in Hong Kong on Monday.

A court in Hong Kong on Monday adjourned the trial of a 29-year-old British banker charged with killing two women until July because of the length of time needed for prosecutors to prepare their case.

Rurik Jutting, who had worked at Bank of America Corp in Hong Kong, was charged earlier this month after police found the bodies of the women in his apartment. One was put inside a suitcase on his balcony, authorities have said.

Local media have described the two victims as prostitutes from Indonesia.

Mr. Jutting had undergone a psychiatric assessment over the past two weeks but his lawyer, Michael Vidler, would not comment on the findings, saying he had not had time to review the reports.

Prosecutors said they would need 28 weeks to examine the large amount of exhibits and other evidence. The next hearing would be on July 6, but could be brought forward if needed, judge Bina Chainrai said.

Sporting a thick dark beard and moustache and wearing the same black T-shirt with New York emblazoned across the front that he has worn in his previous two court appearances, Mr. Jutting said he understood he would remain in custody until next year.

Vidler said Mr. Jutting did not react to the length of time it would take.

"We just advised him that we'd be asking more reasons as to why it was going to be taking eight months. We've got that. In the end we had no objection," Vidler told reporters.

Mr. Jutting has yet to enter a plea.

Bank of America has previously said Mr. Jutting was an employee until recently but it has not said why he left the bank or given a specific timeframe for his departure.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.