Kuala Lumpur sessions court judge Norina Zainol Abidin set the trial dates for Jan 6 to 9, Jan 14 to 16 and Jan 20 to 23, reported The Edge.

The prosecution also told the court that 30 witnesses have been lined up for the trial.

Avitan faces trial after the Attorney-General’s Chambers rejected his representations to review the charges against him.

In April, Avitan, 38, was slapped with a charge under Section 7(1) of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 for trafficking in six guns, as well as one charge under Section 8 of the Arms Act 1960 for possessing 200 bullets.

He faces a jail term of between 30 and 40 years and a maximum six strokes of the rotan if found guilty of gun trafficking.

He also faces a maximum punishment of seven years in jail, a fine of no more than RM10,000, or both, if convicted of being in possession of the bullets.

Both offences allegedly took place in a hotel room on Jalan Ampang between 6.46pm on March 26 and 6pm on March 28.

Deputy public prosecutor Mustaffa P Kunyalam appeared for the prosecution while Avitan was represented by lawyers Sreekant Pillai and Jeffrey Ooi.