Court of Appeal president Rohana Yusuf, who led the bench, said the court took note that the appeals concerned constitutional questions of great importance and despite the AGC’s stand, the court needed further arguments.

She said the issues included whether sentencing was purely a judicial power, on Article 5 of the Federal Constitution pertaining to a fair trial, Article 8 of the Federal Constitution on proportionality and Article 162 of the Federal Constitution on implication and modification of pre-Merdeka law.

Rohana said it would be of great assistance and benefit to the court if Attorney-General Tommy Thomas himself could appear on the next hearing date to assist the court.

She subsequently fixed tomorrow for case management to set a new date for hearing.

The other judges presiding were Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed and Federal Court judges Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Abdul Rahman Sebli, Zaleha Yusof, Zabariah Md Yusof and Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.

Earlier, head of the appellate and trial division Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman said it was the AGC’s stand to support the Federal Court judgment in the Semenyih Jaya vs Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Hulu Langat which stated that it was solely the court’s discretion to decide on sentencing.

On whether the death penalty was cruel and inhuman and unconstitutional, he said the AGC’s stand was that it was constitutional and not cruel and inhuman.

Lawyer Gopal Sri Ram, representing the four individuals, said it was their case that the amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1983 to impose the mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking offences was unconstitutional as it removed the court’s discretion to impose either life imprisonment or death sentence for the offence.

He said the removal of the court’s discretion amounts to an interference of the judicial function.

On the mandatory death penalty passed for murder offences, Sri Ram said Section 302 of the Penal Code was a pre-Merdeka law and thus the court had a duty to bring it into accord with the Federal Constitution.

Peruvian Jorge Crespo Gomes and South Africans Letitia Bosman and Benjamin William Hawkes were separately convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court between 2015 and 2016 for trafficking in drugs in 2013. All three lost their appeals at the Court of Appeal.

P Pubalan was convicted for murder and was sentenced to death by the High Court in 2016. He also lost his appeal in 2018.