PEKAN: Three Orang Asli men were charged in the Magistrate's Court here today with the murder of a 14-year-old Orang Asli girl.

The three accused -- Rosli Bakar, 29, Helmat, 22, and Murad Ahmad, 26, -- nodded after the charge was read out to them, but no plea was recorded as the case is under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

The three of them, who are odd job labourers, were jointly charged with murdering the girl in a forest area near an old cemetery at Bukit Ibam, Muadzam Shah, Rompin, between 11.15 pm last Aug 20 and 7 am the following day.

The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, provides the death sentence upon conviction.

The court set Nov 3 for mention.

Deputy public prosecutor Luqman Hakim Mohamad Usari prosecuted, while all the three accused are represented by lawyer Ahmad Deniel Roslan.

-- BERNAMA