KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - After pleading not guilty to 334 counts of raping his 13-year-old niece on Friday (Feb 2), a jobless man also claimed trial to 253 counts of raping her older sister.

Clad in the same long-sleeved blue T-shirt and jeans, the 46-year-old man appeared calm when the charges were read out to him before Judge Azrul Darus at the Sessions Court in Ampang on Monday.

When asked by interpreters whether he pleaded guilty or claimed trial to the charges, he nodded and said: "Not guilty."

The man was alleged to have committed the 253 offences at a flat in Ampang here between January 2006 and December 2013, the first rape allegedly occurring when the girl, now 17, was only six years old.

The man also pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to rape his 10-year-old niece between January and December last year at the same place.

For this charge, he faces between 10 and 30 years' jail if convicted.

The court interpreters took turns to read out the first 80 charges at 11am and finished reading at 11.35am.

The court resumed at noon, at which time the remaining charges were read out.

Counsel Shahrul Nizam Azwir, acting for the accused, asked for bail as his client no longer lives with the victims.

Deputy public prosecutor Norhashimah Hashim submitted there was a probability that the accused would harass the victims if bail was allowed.

She said the accused knew where the victims lived and that they were related.

Judge Azrul Darus did not grant bail and set March 13 for mention.