The government has intervened to stop a former Cambodian police chief wanted on murder charges in his country from travelling to Finland to seek refuge, the government's top lawyer said today.

Heng Pov, 49, has been under arrest here since early October for immigration offences and has been fighting a court battle to avoid deportation to Cambodia, where he says he will be tortured and killed.

He entered Malaysia from neighbouring Singapore, and the high court last week ordered him sent back to the city-state, from where he planned to travel to Finland, which has offered him refuge.

But Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said his chambers had launched an appeal against the court's decision, arguing Heng Pov should be sent back to his home country.

"If anyone should be deported, they should be sent back to their home country," Abdul Gani told AFP .

"I have signed the notice of appeal against the (court's) order," he said.

Final authority

Abdul Gani noted that it would be difficult to send Heng Pov back to any country except Cambodia, since the travel documents he was carrying had been revoked.

Heng Pov was convicted and sentenced in absentia on September 18 for conspiracy in connection with the killing of a judge in Phnom Penh.

He was expected to have been released early this week for travel to Singapore and then Finland after paying the costs of his detention and deportation in Malaysia.

Finland has offered him a visa, citing human rights concerns, and drawn fire from Cambodia over its decision.

The immigration department's enforcement director, Ishak Mohamad, said the government was arguing that the final authority on his deportation should be up to the immigration authorities, rather than the courts.

"The court should not have interfered in the first place," Ishak told AFP .

The government's appeal is due to be heard tomorrow. Heng Pov's lawyers could not be reached for comment.