Choy Soon Chye, 41, Soo Toh Siang, 30, Soh Say Shin, 36, Tan Shen Qi, 21, Yap See Hong, 26, and Calvin Phua, 29, entered the plea after the charges were read to them before Johor Bahru sessions court judge Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail and magistrate Fitri Mokhtar.

In the sessions court, they were charged with assaulting Low Chun Yong, 28, using a meat cleaver, taser gun, plastic chair and metal rod in front of a restaurant on Jalan Mutiara Emas 2A at 3.30am on Dec 27.

The charge, framed under Section 326 and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, along with a fine or whipping, upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Afdhallan Syafiq Azmy conducted the prosecution, while lawyer T Haressh represented five of the accused. Counsel Amarpreet Singh represented Phua.

The court granted bail of RM10,000 each with one local surety, with the condition that the accused surrender their passports and report to the nearest police station, pending disposal of the case.

In the magistrates’ court, the six were charged with rioting while armed with deadly weapons under Section 148 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine or both, upon conviction.

Bail was set at RM3,500 with two sureties for each accused.

Both courts set Feb 3 for document submission.