In doing so, the appeals court overturned the High Court ruling favouring businessmen Ling Yang Ching and Wong Ong Hua, handed down last year, which declared Sections 4 and 20 of the statute unconstitutional.

Ling and Wong are wanted by the US department of justice to face charges of allegedly running a global hacking operation to steal identities and video game technology, plant ransomware and spy on Hong Kong activists.

They were arrested by Bukit Aman on Sept 14, 2020.

Announcing the decision today, Justice Azizah Nawawi said extradition proceedings are not intended to determine whether a person is guilty of an offence.

She said the appeals court was bound by a previous Federal Court ruling which declared that extradition proceedings are not in the nature of a trial.

“Since extradition proceedings are not a trial, there is no issue of (the government) interfering with the exercise of judicial power,” Azizah said.

Also on the panel hearing the appeal were Justices See Mee Chun and Zaini Mazlan.

No order was made to costs.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Liew Horng Bin appeared for the home ministry while Ling and Wong were represented by Tey Jun Ren.

Tey told reporters that he would await instruction from his clients on whether to seek leave of the Federal Court to appeal today’s ruling.

He added that the extradition proceedings are fixed for mention in the sessions court on Aug 30.

In the High Court, Justice Wan Ahmad Wan Farid had ruled that the two provisions violated the fundamental liberties of accused persons and interfered with the judicial powers vested in the courts by the Federal Constitution.

Section 4 deals with the home minister’s power to direct the extradition of a suspect to face criminal charges in a requesting country.

Section 20 states that the courts must commit the suspect to detention, pending the minister’s order to surrender him.