Deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, representing the attorney-general, the respondent in the application, requested that the High Court allow the AGC one week to file its affidavit in reply.

Justice Bhupindar Singh Gucharan Singh Preet directed that the AGC’s reply be filed by Dec 26, with the family granted until Jan 9 to respond.

He said a date for oral submissions would only be fixed after both sides had completed filings.

The judge also fixed the application for mention in court on Jan 19.

The deceased’s family was represented by counsel Aiman Haziq Saiful Kamal.

The family had earlier questioned the hospital’s silence despite multiple letters sent requesting the documents.

Their lawyer Naran Singh said that while the investigating officer had shared the post-mortem report with him, it nevertheless should not have come from a third party.

Syamsul, 22, died on July 28 while undergoing training at the Army Combat Training Centre in Ulu Tiram, Johor, under circumstances that remain unclear.

He was reported to have suffered a seizure before his death, which was initially classified as sudden death.

However, his mother, Ummu Haiman Bee Daulatgun, insisted that her son’s body bore bruises and injuries more consistent with physical assault than a seizure.

On Aug 26, the High Court ordered the exhumation of Syamsul’s remains for a second post-mortem on his mother’s application.

On Nov 28, Naran said the second post-mortem examination indicated that the deceased had “sustained severe neck injuries while he was alive”, contradicting information previously conveyed to defence minister Khaled Nordin.

Khaled claimed on Aug 13 that the preliminary post-mortem had found no injuries caused by physical abuse. He said the full report would be available within two months.

The AGC subsequently reclassified Syamsul’s death as murder and instructed the police to launch a probe into the case.