Ling Yang Ching and Wong Ong Hua filed the suit in the High Court in September last year to challenge the constitutionality of Sections 4 and 20 of the Extradition Act.

The US government has applied to extradite them to face charges in the district of Columbia for allegedly running a global hacking operation to steal identities and video game technology, plant ransomware and spy on Hong Kong activists.

The minister and the government, in their striking out attempt, claimed that the filing of the lawsuit was an attempt to delay their extradition proceedings in the sessions court.

They said the validity of Sections 4 and 20 should be raised during their extradition hearing.

In response, Ling and Wong denied that the suit was an attempt to delay their extradition.

“The sessions court does not have the powers to make ruling on constitutional issues,” they said in their suit.

The sessions court fixed Jan 27 to rule on their application to stay their extradition proceedings pending the disposal of their suit.

Ling and Wong were arrested by Bukit Aman federal police on Sept 14, 2020 after the US government applied to extradite them.