HK court told UK banker in murder case has disorders

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING

A British banker on trial for the murders of two Indonesian women in Hong Kong was suffering from personality disorders, according to a psychiatrist called forth by his defense team Monday.

Rurik Jutting, 31, pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter in relation to the 2014 killings when the trial began earlier this month amid demonstrations by migrant workers groups calling for justice.

The Hong Kong Standard reported Monday that Dr. Richard Latham told the court that Jutting may suffer from narcissistic personality disorder, sexual sadism disorder, and disorders relating to drug and alcohol use.

The psychiatrist said that after interviewing Jutting and viewing other prosecution evidence, he arrived at the conclusion that the defendant does not suffer from psychosis.

Latham described "personality disorders" as not typically being regarded as mental illnesses, with psychotic symptoms being short-term and likely induced by other factors such as the use of cocaine and lack of sleep.

He added that Jutting claimed to have experienced hallucinations at the time of the alleged killings.

Last week, the judge warned jury members that they would see “unpleasant photographs” during the trial, which is scheduled to be held until Nov. 11.

Jutting was arrested Nov. 1, 2014 when he called police to his flat, where they found Seneng Mujiasih, 29, dead with cuts to her neck and buttocks. On the apartment’s balcony, they discovered the decaying body of Sumarti Ningsih, 25, inside a suitcase, wrapped in a carpet.

A knife was also found at the scene.

A court later found Jutting fit to stand trial following psychiatric tests.

Hong Kong is home to a large community of expatriate bankers who work long hours.

The families of Mujiasih and Ningsih had told Anadolu Agency soon after they were murdered that the women had initially emigrated to the international financial center for employment as domestic workers, from where they had been sending money back home.

The Network of Indonesian Migrant Workers and Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body, which organized an earlier vigil for the victims, had described them as having been breadwinners who only wanted “to support their poor families back home and give them a better life".

"In a place touted as one of the safest cities in the world, the twin murders brought Hong Kong, Indonesia and the international community in a state of shock," it said in a statement.