Kuala lumpur: The Court of Appeal has granted bail to 14 foreign nationals who are awaiting trial on charges of drug possession. Each individual was released on a bail amount of RM3,000, with the condition of having two Malaysian citizens as sureties, possessing permanent residential addresses in the country.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, a three-member bench comprising Justice Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid, and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid outlined the bail conditions. The accused, who were charged in two separate incidents, include citizens from China, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The offences allegedly occurred in a hotel room in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, on May 24.

Six of the individuals, namely Yang Yang from China; Rio Antoni, Billy Hariyanto, Erwin Wijaya, and Edy Tjong from Indonesia; and Pornchai Kaewsapsak from Thailand, were initially charged on May 26 with possession of 15 grammes of methamphetamine. Their initial plea for bail was denied, leading them to seek a revision at the High Court. After the High Court dismissed their application on May 29, they appealed to the Court of Appeal, which has now granted them bail.

On the same day, another group of eight foreign nationals was charged in a different Magistrate's Court with possession of 2.7 grammes of ecstasy pills. Although initially granted bail on similar terms, the High Court later called for a revision and revoked their bail on June 3. This revocation prompted the second group to file an appeal with the Court of Appeal, resulting in the reinstatement of their bail.

Lawyers Datuk N. Sivananthan and Sharifah Annafiza Al-Shahab represented the first group of six applicants, while counsel Yong Jei Beng appeared for the second group of eight individuals. Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Ariff Aizuddin Masrom represented the prosecution in the case.