ISRAELI man Avitan Shalom today claimed trial at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to charges of gun trafficking and possession of bullets.

Avitan was charged under section 7(1) of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act for trafficking in six guns, and section 8 of the act for possessing 158 bullets.

He was accused of committing the offence at a hotel in Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur.

If found guilty of the gun trafficking charge, Avitan could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment and whipped at least six times.

For the second charge of unlawful possession of bullets, he faces up to 14 years in prison and six lashes of the whip.

Mohamad Mustafa P. Kunyalam was the deputy public prosecutor  while the accused was represented by Navinjit Singh and Jeffrey Ooi.

Judge Tasmin Abu Bakar did not grant bail and fixed May 21 for case mention.

The 36-year-old Israeli was arrested at a hotel in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, on March 27. He is believed to have entered the country from the United Arab Emirates, on a French passport, on March 12.

The accused, who also holds an Israeli passport, has said that he was in Malaysia to hunt down and kill another Israeli over a family dispute.

On April 8, a local couple suspected of supplying firearms to the Israeli man were charged in the Klang Sessions Court for firearms offences. – April 12, 2024.