Psycho banker laughs in back of prison van as he is sent for mental tests before his trial for murdering two prostitutes

British 'psycho' banker Rurik Jutting was today sent for psychiatric tests to determine if he is fit to stand trial for the murders of two Indonesian prostitutes.

Jutting, 29, originally from Cobham, Surrey, appeared in a short court hearing in Hong Kong this morning charged with the double murder.

The judge adjourned proceedings for two weeks while the psychiatric assessments are carried out and the banker was remanded in custody.

As he left court, Jutting was pictured chuckling in the back of a prison van surrounded by security guards wearing face masks.

His lawyer, who did not speak during the hearing, said he had not yet agreed to take part in a police reconstruction at the crime scene, but did not rule out giving consent in future.

Sumarti Ningsih, 23, was found dead in a suitcase at Cambridge-educated Jutting's apartment in the former British colony's Wan Chai district earlier this month.

Police had been called to the property on Halloween night and first found 29-year-old Seneng Mujiasih with wounds to her throat and buttocks. She died a short time later.

Jutting moved to Hong Kong from London in July last year and is understood to have quit his highly-paid job at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the days before the incident. 

Before leaving, he appeared to have set a sinister automatic response for his email account at the bank.

The email response 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).'

His appearance in court came after an Indonesian nanny claimed she was allegedly invited back to his flat prior to the killings, but turned down his offer because she thought he was 'acting strangely'.

The former public schoolboy was arrested after calling police to his £2,000-a-month high-rise flat following a night out at the Makati Pub & Disco.

It was at the nightclub prior to his arrest that he reportedly began chatting to the mother-of-three, who has lived in the former British colony for four years and works as a nanny for a Hong Kong Chinese family.

She claimed he approached her and a friend at the bar and said: 'Hi, girls. Where are you from? How old are you?' before buying them a round of drinks.

After just minutes of chatting, he allegedly asked the nanny to return to his apartment with him but she said she denied his request because of his 'strange' behaviour.

She told The Telegraph's Tom Phillips: 'I said: "No, I'm with my friends. He was just walking around and around and around.

'He looked happy but I didn't understand why he was moving around all the time.'

The woman, who is believed to be in her 30s, said she had witnessed Jutting pacing the club, occasionally grabbing women, before he approached her.

Her comments come after it was revealed Jutting contacted his ex-girlfriend Ariane Guarin last month asking if she would fly out to visit him in Hong Kong.

The message sent to the 22-year-old nightclub hostess from the Philippines was abrupt and to the point.

It simply said: ‘Did you get your passport? If so, do you want to come to Hong Kong this weekend? And stay the week?' 

Miss Guarin, who had a six-month relationship with Jutting, said she felt 'lucky' not to have flown out to stay with him.

She said: ‘I had a problem applying for my passport because I don’t have a valid identity card.

'He wanted me to stay for a week with him but I couldn’t go without a passport.

'I feel lucky. I am really thankful that it wasn’t me.’

Earlier today, more than 100 people attended a vigil for the two victims, who were both sex workers in Hong Kong's red light district. 

Ms Ningsih's cousin, Jumiati, said at the vigil that she had last seen her relative in August in their home village in Indonesia.

Jumiati, who goes by only one name, said she called police about a week ago to report that her cousin was missing and was later asked to identify her body.

'I hope the killer will be punished and will feel the same as what has been done to my cousin,' she said at the vigil.

Susiati, a friend of the victim, broke down in tears as she remembered Ms Ningsih, who had a five-year-old son back home.

'I have lost my best friend, and I am devastated,' she said.

Several in the crowd held signs demanding reforms to Hong Kong and Indonesian laws governing how domestic workers can find work and how long they can stay in the city.