Koong Swee Kwan pleaded not guilty to the charges read before judicial commissioner Ab Karim Ab Rahman.

The judge then fixed trial to begin on March 16 and between 27 and 31 of the same month.

Government lawyer Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said the prosecution will produce 15 witnesses to prove its case.

Koong has appointed veteran lawyer Jagjit Singh to represent him.

On Dec 14, the Federal Court set aside Koong’s conviction and ordered a retrial as the trial judge was prejudiced against the accused.

A five-man Federal Court bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin also directed a new judge to preside over the cases.

Koong was charged with the murder of Hussain Ahmad Najadi, 75, and attempted murder of Najadi’s wife, Cheong Mei Kuen, 49 at the Kuan Yin Temple in Jalan Ceylon in Kuala Lumpur on July 29, 2013.

Trial judge Mohd Azman Husin in September 2014, sentenced Koong to death for Najadi’s murder and 18 years in jail for the attempted murder of Cheong.

In 2015, the Court of Appeal upheld the convictions and sentence.

Last month, lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, who represented Koong during the appeal, said his client was prejudiced as it was Azman who also dismissed taxi driver Chew Siang Chee’s appeal for possessing a pistol and ammunition.

These exhibits were closely linked to the murder and Chew also turned prosecution witness.

Early last year, the Court of Appeal acquitted Chew on grounds that the prosecution failed to prove their case.

Teh submitted that his client had been denied a fair trial as Azman could have been influenced by prejudicial evidence in the case of Chew who had allegedly ferried Koong before the murder.

He said Azman who presided over Koong’s trial was also aware that Chew had identified Koong as the murder suspect.