KOTA KINABALU, Feb. 27 -- A self-employed elderly man was charged in the Magistrate's Court here on Friday with murdering a woman whose body parts were found in a communal rubbish bin in Indah Permai, Sepanggar.

No plea was recorded from Piluta Samad, 71, when he was brought before Magistrate Dzul Elmy Yunus, as murder cases are under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

The alleged offence was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment of up to 40 years and, if the death penalty is not imposed, whipping of up to 12 strokes, upon conviction.

Piluta was accused of murdering Hamidah Husin @ Lisa, 44, an undocumented woman, at an unnumbered house in Kampung Sri Kenangan, Jalan Sepanggar...