Malaysian lawyer charged in millionaire murder

A Malaysian court charged a lawyer and three farm workers Wednesday with the murder of a self-made cosmetics mogul and three others in a case that has gripped the nation.

The remains of cosmetics line owner Sosilawati Lawiya and three of her aides were found on a poultry farm in Banting town in the central state of Selangor last month, days after the four went missing.

Lawyer . Pathmanabhan, the alleged mastermind of the killing, and three other men were charged in a district court in the state with the murder of the four, his lawyer Ravi Nekoo said. Murder carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction in Malaysia.

Sosilawati, 47, went missing after allegedly going to see Pathmanabhan to discuss a property deal gone wrong. She was accompanied by her driver Kamarudin Shamsuddin, 44, financial adviser Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, and her lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32.

According to the charge sheet, all four were murdered on Aug. 30 at the poultry farm, Nekoo said. Police saytheir bodies were burned and ashes strewn into streams near the farm.

No plea was recorded pending a transfer of the case to a higher court. The next district court date is Dec. 16, Nekoo said. He could not immediately identify the three others who were charged.

Three others, including Pathmanabhan's bother, who is also a lawyer, remain in police custody but are expected to be released, Nekoo said.

The case made headlines for days last month, shocking Malaysians who were riveted by high-profile personalities and grisly details of the crime.

Police have said they were also investigating Pathmanabhanand his brother in the disappearance of several others and the murder of a housewife who was slashed to death in front of her house.

The two lawyers were disbarred last November following a complaint over a property transaction. They are appealing the decision.