Nurul Hidayah Mahat, 24, and her sister Endang Nur Nabila Suriana, 22, together with their husbands Ezwan Syafiq Joha, 27, and Affizan Abdullah, 24, denied the charge after it was read out to them before judge Noor Aini Yusof.

According to the charge, the defendants were alleged to have dishonestly kept a bracelet weighing 28g, a “love high polish” pendant necklace (131g), a “love high polish” pendant bracelet (84.6g) and a necklace (4.5g) belonging to Siti Nur Khalieda, which were believed to have been transferred by the commission of gang robbery.

They were alleged to have committed the offence at a house in Kampung Aman, Pokok Sena, Kepala Batas, at 9pm, on April 25.

The charge was framed under Section 412 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for a prison term of up to 20 years and a fine if convicted.

Deputy public prosecutor Syafiq Nasrullah Saleem Ali did not propose bail.

However, defence lawyer Ranjit Singh Sandhu pleaded mitigating circumstances on behalf of his clients.

“Ezwan only works as a trader with a monthly income of RM1,200 and his wife Hidayah is unemployed. They have two young children and Hidayah suffers from chronic diabetes requiring insulin injections.

“Endang Nur Nabila Suriana is a housewife and also suffers from chronic diabetes, while her husband Affizan has asthma and works part-time as a landscaper earning RM1,500 per month,” he said.

Aini set bail at RM18,000 with one surety for each defendant and ordered them to report to the nearest police station once a fortnight, surrender their passports to the court and not to approach or contact the victim or witnesses throughout the trial.

The court fixed July 19 for next mention and document submission.