KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — Six individuals, including three women, were brought before the Magistrates’ Court in Tawau, Sabah, today and charged with jointly trafficking 659.16 grammes of MDMA at a homestay in Taman Nordin early Wednesday morning.

The accused are Hang Vui Hiung, 29, Lisyanti Ibrahim, 39, Shazzreena, 20, Muhammad Haikal Daniel Azman, 23, Sherlin Liew Zi Ling, 26, and Andi Moh Arifai Tatta, 29.

According to the charge, they allegedly committed the offence at 4.30am in a room on the ground floor of the homestay, BuletinTV3 reported.

They were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, they face the death penalty or life imprisonment and, if not sentenced to death, whipping of not less than 12 strokes.

All six indicated that they understood the charges after they were read and explained by a court interpreter before Magistrate Dayang Aidaku Amira Aminuddin.

However, no plea was recorded for the drug trafficking charge as the offence falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

In a second charge, all six were accused of jointly having 1.16 grammes gross weight of ketamine in their possession at the same time, date and location.

They all pleaded guilty to the second charge.

They were charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 12(3) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, they face a fine of up to RM100,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

The court set September 18 for mention of the case to obtain a chemistry report on the actual weight of the drugs, as requested by the prosecution.

No bail was offered to the accused.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Kadisun, while all six accused were unrepresented.

They had previously been remanded for four days from August 26 after being arrested in a raid following a complaint and information about a party believed to involve drug abuse at the homestay.

The luxury accommodation was reportedly rented out at about RM1,500 a night.