The Kuala Lumpur High Court today postponed a hearing to deport Heng Pov after state prosecutors said they needed more time to prepare their case, said a lawyer for Cambodia's fugitive former police chief.

"The judge has agreed to adjourn the hearing at the request of the deputy public prosecutor, who needed time to reply to an affidavit we filed," Heng Pov's lawyer, N Sivananthan told AFP .

Heng Pov was arrested last month in Malaysia for overstaying his visa after entering the country from Singapore. He is fighting to avoid deportation to Cambodia, where he has been convicted on murder conspiracy charges.

Sivananthan said the court had adjourned the case to Nov 24.

"The prosecutors felt they needed more time to reply us," he said.

"We are arguing on many grounds to prove that the procedure for our client's detention was illegal in the first place," he added.

Convicted in absentia

Heng Pov is attempting to be deported to Singapore instead of his home country, where he fears execution for conspiracy to commit murder.

Malaysian immigration laws allow for overstayers to be sent back to their last point of entry.

Judge Abdul Kadir Musa has ruled that Heng Pov will not be forced to leave the country until he receives a fair trial in his battle against Malaysia's government, which is trying to deport him.

Heng Pov was convicted and sentenced in absentia in Cambodia on September 18 for conspiracy in connection with the killing of Municipal Court judge Sok Sethamony, who was shot in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

He is currently being held in custody at national police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.