Hong Kong court adjourns British banker murder case for five weeks

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The pre-trial hearing for a British banker, accused of murdering two women in Hong Kong last November, was adjourned for five weeks on Thursday after the prosecution requested for more time to build its case. Prosecution lawyers asked for the extra time to serve further documents for their case against 30-year-old former Bank of America employee Rurik Jutting. The grisly murders of the two women, described by local media as prostitutes from Indonesia, shocked Hong Kong, a city with a low homicide rate. The judge Jason Wan Siu-Ming said the adjournment was not unusual or unreasonable for complicated cases. Jutting's lawyers did not object and the hearing will resume on May 8. Jutting, a former Cambridge graduate, was accused after police found the bodies of two women in his luxury high rise apartment. One was found lying inside the apartment with wounds to her neck and buttocks, and the other was discovered in a suitcase on the balcony, authorities have said. During the hearing Jutting acknowledged an amended charge sheet that was read out to him to include the second victim's name. He had the same full beard and wore the same black t-shirt with 'New York' emblazoned across the front that he has worn in his last three court appearances, but appeared to have lost weight. After being charged for the double murder, Jutting was found fit to plea following a psychiatric assessment at the end of 2014, but he has yet to enter any plea. Bank of America has previously said Jutting was an employee but it has not said why he left or given any time frame. [ID:nL1N0SU09M] A Linkedin account under Jutting's name said he had worked in structured equity finance and trading at the bank in Hong Kong since July 2013. Before that, he had worked in the same department but in London. The profile also said Jutting had worked in structured capital markets at Barclays between June 2008 and July 2010 and had studied at Cambridge University. According to people who were at Cambridge at the same time, Jutting attended Peterhouse, the oldest college, and was president of the Cambridge University History society. He was also a cross-country runner and a rower. Prior to Cambridge he went to Winchester College, one of Britain's most renowned and oldest private schools. (Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)