SEPANG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A 52-year-old school teacher was charged at the sessions court in Sepang on Tuesday (Oct 29) for having links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sundaram Renggam, also known as Rengasamy, was charged under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code over possession of items related to the LTTE, a group deemed as a terrorist organisation in Malaysia.

Judge Saifulakmal Md Saad set Dec 16 as mention date for Sundaram's case.

Sundaram's lawyer, Mr Kirthiraj Raja Sundram, from the MIC Legal Aid bureau, asked for bail.

No plea was recorded.

Sundaram was among 12 individuals detained by the Counter Terrorism Division (E8) under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) on Oct 10 and 12 in various parts of the country.

Melaka exco member G. Saminathan, who is the Gadek assemblyman, and Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, who were among the 12 detained, are also expected to be charged along with another suspect at a court in Ayer Keroh, Melaka, on Tuesday.

The other suspects were charged separately in different states on the same day.

Sri Lanka was embroiled in a 26-year civil war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military, which saw around 80,000 to 100,000 people killed.

The civil war ended when Sri Lanka's military defeated the LTTE in May 2009.

However, over the years, there have been several arrests by the authorities against individuals said to be supporting the LTTE, which was labelled a terrorist organisation in Malaysia under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act in February 2014.

Sri Lanka, the United States, Canada, India and the European Union have also labelled the LTTE a terrorist group.