MUAR, Dec 23 — Six friends claimed trial in the Sessions Court here today to charges of taking turns to sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Tangkak near here five years ago.

The accused were identified as Muhammad Amirul Aiman Sahrrol, 20; Muhammad Azizi Shamsor Kamar, 23; and his twin brother Muhammad Azizan, 23; Muhammad Asraf Rosli, 23; Hafsyal Sufian Kamaluddin, 23; and Muhammad Hafize Abd Rahim, 23.

All six men made the plea after the charges were read out separately to them by an interpreter before Judge Sayani Mohd Nor.

According to the charges, the youths were accused of committing physical sexual assault on a 16-year-old girl at a house in Tangkak, between 1.30am and 2am on January 20, 2019.

For that, the accused were charged under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and whipping upon conviction.

Based on the report, the victim was visiting the house of one of the male acquaintances at that time before she took a rest in the upstairs room.

At that time, there were nine youths in the house and they allegedly went upstairs in pairs before committing the act.

Neighbours were alerted to the alleged crime by the victim’s screams.

This led a neighbour to contact the police before all the accused were arrested to assist investigations.

The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutors Danial Munir and Diyana Najihah Muhamed Fauzi, while all the accused were unrepresented.

Earlier, the prosecution called for bail to be set at RM20,000 for each accused and requested that the court set two additional conditions.

After hearing the appeals, the court allowed each of the accused to be bailed at RM10,000 each with one surety.

The court also ordered that the accused report to the nearest police station once a month and barred them from approaching the victim.

The court set January 27 for the case to be mentioned and for the submission of documents, including the appointment of legal counsels for the accused.