JAKARTA - The trial of Singaporean terror suspect Mohammad Hasan alias Fajar Taslim, has been delayed to Tuesday or Thursday.

A state prosecutor in charge of Fajar Talim case on Monday filed a last minute request for the delay as he needed more time to prepare his charge paper.

Fajar taslim's lawyer Asludin Hatjadi said he will meet the prosecutor and judges at 1 pm (2 pm Singapore time) on Monday at the court house to firm up the trial date.

The Singaporean and nine other terror suspects were nabbed at a rented house in Palembang, South Sumatra, in early July last year.

The raid also uncovered 22 home-made bombs that were ready to use as well as cachets of explosive.

Earlier reports said the the authorities are most likely to base their charges on Clause 9 of the anti-terrorism law, which carries a maximum death penalty and a minimum three-year imprisonment.

Clause 9 targets anyone found to possess, keep, transport, hide explosive materials and other dangerous materials meant to be used to commit an act of terrorism.

The amount of dangerous firearms and the extent of damage they could have inflicted would affect the penalty meted out.

In the case of the Palembang terror suspects, Indonesian national police chief Sutanto had previously said the bombs seized by police were even more deadly than those used in previous terror attacks.

So, it is very likely that 35-year-old Fajar Taslim, also known as Mohamed Hassan, and his compatriots could face the firing squad.

If convicted, Fajar Taslim would be the first Singaporean to be charged with terror-related activities in Indonesia.

He is said to be a member of the Singapore chapter of the Jemaah Islamiah, headed by wanted fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari since 1999. Mas Selamat and his team, including Fajar Taslim, had allegedly planned to hijack a plane in Bangkok and crash it into Singapore's Changi airport in 2002.

Police also believe that Fajar Taslim, who was working as an English teacher in Palembang at the time of the arrest, had previously been trained in Afghanistan and met wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden several times.

But Mr Asludin claimed that Fajar Taslim, since coming to Indonesia, no longer has ties with international terror networks. 'Fajar came to Indonesia in 2001 and has lived here ever since and has become well-assimilated. He was married to an Indonesian and has two children,' he said.

Since the October 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people - most of whom were foreign tourists, Indonesia has been seen as taking a tough stance on terror.

Three men - Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron - were convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 over the bombings.

But their execution has been repeatedly delayed due to series of failed appeals and most recently for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended in September.