All four, aged 16 to 19, claimed trial before judge Nariman Badruddin at the Ayer Keroh sessions court, a daily reported.

They were charged with gang-raping the 17-year-old victim near an airport in Jasin at 4am on July 17.

The charges were framed under Section 375B of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail sentence of between 10 and 30 years if found guilty.

The 19-year-old was also charged as an adult under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 for committing sexual assault on the same victim at the same time and location.

He faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping if found guilty.

Deputy public prosecutor Siti Bahiyah Amir Haidi prosecuted while the teens were represented by Chua Yong Yi.

Chua asked for bail to be set at a low amount since the 19-year-old was a student at a vocational college, another suspect was a Form Four student, while the remaining two, aged 17 and 18, were unemployed.

The court allowed bail of RM5,000 for the 16-year-old, while the 17-year-old and 18-year-old were offered bail of RM7,000 each.

The 19-year-old was allowed to post bail at RM14,000 for both charges.

The case was fixed for mention on Aug 16.