A British investment banker charged with the murder of two women in Hong Kong has been remanded in custody.

Rurik Jutting (29) was arrested after the women's bodies were discovered at an apartment in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district.

During his appearance he wore black trousers and a black T-shirt. He was remanded in custody and will return to court on November 10th.

Police placed him on a holding charge ahead of today's court appearance.

Mr Jutting had recently quit his job with Bank of America Merrill Lynch - and reportedly left an out of office email message urging correspondents to contact someone "who is not an insane psychopath".

The message, which has not been verified by the bank, read: "I am out of the office. Indefinitely. For urgent enquiries, or indeed any enquiries, please contact someone who is not an insane psychopath.

"For escalation, please contact God, though suspect the devil will have custody (Last line only really worked if I had followed through)."

Last Monday he posted a Facebook photo of his balcony in the high-rise J Residence, which has a gym, clubhouse and rooftop pool, and said he was starting a "new journey".

He wrote: "Stepping down from the ledge. Burden lifted; new journey begins. Scared and anxious but also excited. The first step is always the hardest."

Officers arrived at the 31st floor flat early on Saturday after receiving a call from the suspect.

They discovered the body of a woman, aged between 25 and 30, lying naked in the living room with knife wounds to her neck and backside.

Police also found a small amount of cocaine and a 12-inch knife in the flat.

Body found in a brown suitcase

Assistant Commander Wan Siu-hung told reporters: "We believe the death was caused by a sharp object which cut the throat of the deceased."

"This led to copious bleeding. When the police found her, she was lying in the living room. The room was messy."

Eight hours later, at about noon on Saturday, police widened the forensic examination of the apartment and made the second discovery.

The body of the second woman, named in a court document as Sumarti Ningsih, was found wrapped in a blanket inside a brown suitcase on a balcony at the apartment.

She too had wounds to the neck. Police say the victim died on October 27th.

Police sources have told local media they believe the women worked in the sex industry.

A police spokesman added: "From what we can see it was intentionally hidden because it was put in a travel suitcase."

Both of the women are believed to be from Indonesia. One has been named locally as Sumarti Ningsih (25).

Mr Jutting studied history and law at Cambridge University and was a member of the prestigious rowing club and the history society, which is called Clio.

He had worked for Merrill Lynch from 2010 until only a couple of days ago, spending three years at their offices in London, before moving to Hong Kong in July last year.
Prior to that he worked at Barclays in London.

The neighbourhood of Wan Chai is effectively Hong Kong's red light district. A large number of women from southeast Asia spend time in the district's many bars and clubs.

A UK Foreign Office spokesman confirmed a British national had been arrested in Hong Kong, although did not specify the nature of the crime.

"We are in touch with the local police and stand ready to provide consular assistance," she said.

Reporter Mark Stone is in Hong Kong.