Rurik Jutting: British banker accused of murdering two women in Hong Kong 'will plea not guilty'

Next hearing is set for four to six weeks

Rurik Jutting has been found guilty of murdering Sumarti Ningsih and Seneng Mujiasih (AFP/Getty)

Rurik Jutting, the British banker accused of murdering two women in his Hong Kong apartment, has effectively indicated that he will plead not guilty as the case was sent to the city state's highest court.

He did not enter a plea and declined a preliminary inquiry in a pre-trial hearing before a lower court magistrate.

Cambridge graduate Jutting, who worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was charged after police found the bodies of the two women, both in their 20s, in his apartment near the heart of Hong Kong's Wan Chai red light district in October last year. One of bodies was stuffed in a suitcase left on the balcony.

When asked if he wanted to indicate how he would plead, Jutting said: "No plea at this time."

In response, the magistrate said: "I take it as not guilty."

Jutting, who wore the same black "New York" T-shirt he has worn in previous court appearances, faces life in prison if convicted. The case's next hearing would probably be in four to six weeks in the high court, his lawyer said.

The case shocked the former British colony, which has a reputation for being safe, and highlighted the expatriate community's extremes of inequality.

One of the dead women, Sumarti Ningsih, had been working as a maid but stayed on in Hong Kong after her visa lapsed. The other victim, Seneng Mujiasih, was on a tourist visa.

PA