The case against the five men accused of spray-painting slogans like "We are one we are legion expect us" and "TSK", the former referring to the global hacktivist group Anonymous, has been fixed for a pre-trial conference (PTC) on Jan 7.

Mohamad Fadzly Aziz, 21; Danial Ryan Salleh, 25; Muhammad Qamarul Arifin Sa'adon, 22; and Muhammad Fitri Abu Kasim, 24, had allegedly sprayed those words at about 4am on Nov 5, on the pavement outside Sunshine Plaza at 91 Prinsep Link.

Minutes later, the four suspects sprayed a similar slogan on a nearby pillar. At both locations, the four men also sprayed the stylised words "TSK", believed to be a band logo, that they then repeated on the pavement of a taxi stand along Waterloo Street at 4.20am. At about 5am, Mohamad Fadzly and a fifth accused, Muhammad Redzwan Baskin, 26, were suspected to have defaced a wall and pavement at the Scape building at 2 Orchard Link, with a slogan and the logo.

The five, who are facing vandalism charges, returned to court on Tuesday. Muhammad Redzwan told the court that he has applied for legal aid, while Mohamad Fadzly said he would do the same. The remaining three have also engaged legal counsel for the PTC on Jan 7.

Their bail of $15,000 each has been extended and had their passports impounded.

For each charge of vandalism, the suspects face a mandatory punishment of at least three strokes of the cane.