Facing trial: Cheong being led away from the Bukit Mertajam magistrate’s court after he was charged Wednesday.

BUKIT MERTAJAM: An engineer who allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death on Valentine’s Day has been charged with her murder.

Cheong Teik Keon, 31, from Sungai Siput in Perak, was accused of murdering clerk Tan Ching Chin, 24, at a house in Taman Hwa Seng, Jalan Rozan, Alma here, at about 8.40am on Feb 14.

He was charged in a magistrate’s court here yesterday under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

He appeared calm when the charge was read to him before magistrate Arif Mohamad Shariff.

No plea was recorded from Cheong, who was clad in a blue T-shirt and grey pants.

A bandage which was seen on his left thumb when he was brought to court for a remand order on Feb 27 has been removed, revealing what appeared to be a healing wound.

He was represented by Ram Karpal Singh while DPP Siti Nur Sakinah Ibrahim prosecu­ted.

Arif Mohamad fixed April 8 for mention.

Ching Chin, who worked as a clerk at her brother’s construction firm, was found lying in a pool of blood by her mother and Indonesian maid at their home here.

Ching Chin’s family had earlier consented to donate her or­­­gans.

Her sister Mary Tan, 40, had said that although Ching Chin, fondly known as Amanda, had yet to pledge her organs, they believed she would have wanted them to carry out her wish.

Her bones were sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and her corneas to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital’s eye unit in Alor Setar.

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