TAWAU: Thirteen teenagers were charged in the High Court here today with the murder of a 17-year-old student at Lahad Datu Vocational College in March.
During today's proceedings, all accused pleaded not guilty before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
Following their plea, the court scheduled a ten-day trial period, with proceedings set to start from Nov 18 to 20 and Nov 25 to 29.
The prosecution is expected to call between ten and twelve witnesses throughout the trial.
Meanwhile, all accused will be remanded at the Tawau Prison starting today, awaiting the trial dates.
Earlier, those accused, dressed in white, arrived at the court compound at 8.24 am in a police truck before being escorted into the court lock-up.
The accused, aged between 16 and 19, are charged with jointly murdering Mohammad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan in Dormitory Room 7 Resak and 5 Belian at Lahad Datu Vocational College, between 9pm on March 21 and 7.35 am on March 22.
They are charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 24 of the same Code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for 30 to 40 years, and not exceeding 12 lashes, upon conviction.
The prosecution is led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Suhaimi Suryana, assisted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Hurman Hussain.
Nine of the 13 teenagers are represented by lawyers Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, Datuk Ram Singh, Amirul Amin Rashid, and Chen Wen Jye, one by lawyer Abdul Ghani Zelika, while the remaining three are unrepresented.
On March 22, Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat was found dead with injuries and bruises in a dormitory room at the college.