The 26-year-old man arrested for murder in connection with human remains found in his rented room appeared in court on Monday.

Flavio Hlabangwane was charged with murder during his brief appearance in the Protea magistrate's court in Soweto, dressed in a checked shirt and black jeans, with a bandage wrapped around his hand.

As proceedings were under way, the evaluation expert told the court that Hlabangwane had no previous convictions, save for traffic-related infringements.

His matter was postponed to November 22 for further investigations.

Hlabangwane was arrested on Saturday after his new girlfriend made the gruesome discovery of body parts in the deep freezer compartment of his fridge in Protea Glen.

According to police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili, an off-duty police officer living in the area responded to the crime scene and Hlabangwane was arrested.

The body parts will be sent to the forensic science laboratory for identification.

Hlabangwane attempted to commit suicide by stabbing himself multiple time after he was apprehended by community members.

The grisly discovery sent shockwaves in the community, with neighbours condemning the incident. 

*NOTE: In an earlier version of this story, the accused was identified by the wrong surname. This has since been corrected.