KUCHING, Feb 10 — The Magistrates’ Court here has set March 17 as the new mention date for the case against 23-year-old e-hailing driver Zakwan Mokhtar, who has been charged with the murder of Nurul Asikin Lan.

Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali fixed the date following a request by Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Siow Chung Hwei, who sought additional time for the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and post-mortem reports to be tendered in court.

Zakwan, who was not represented by any counsel, was placed on further remand at Puncak Borneo Prison until the next mention, as murder is a non-bailable offence.

On December 24, last year, Zakwan was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or a minimum 30 years in jail and caning upon conviction.

The accused allegedly committed the murder because he is said to have needed money to fund a trip to Cambodia to watch a football match.

The decomposed body of 28-year-old Nurul Asikin was found by members of the public in a ditch in Jalan Setia Raja here on December 14, last year.

The discovery led to the accused’s arrest on the same day and he was subsequently placed under remand until today.

Sarawak commissioner of police Datuk Mancha Ata said the accused is believed to have asked for Nurul Asikin’s jewellery, namely a gold bracelet and gold earrings, because he wanted to pawn them. — The Borneo Post