The fate of three Malaysian brothers who could face the death penalty for drug trafficking remained uncertain on Wednesday

The fate of three Malaysian brothers who could face the death penalty for drug trafficking remained uncertain on Wednesday after the prosecution team failed to deliver its sentencing demand for the fifth time in a row.

Arivananthan Anguthan,44, Perumal, 41, and Mugilan, 36, are on trial at South Jakarta District Court for allegedly peddling crystal methamphetamine.

“This is the fifth delay in recent weeks and we have to wait until next Wednesday,” said Yahya Iskandar, a defense lawyer. “Prosecutors failed to show up because they needed to attend a ceremony.”

Last week the hearing was adjourned because the judges went on a business trip to Central Java. The week prior, the prosecution team said it was not ready to submit a sentencing demand.

A senior official at the Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday pledged to conduct an internal inquiry into the repeated court delays.

“We will check,” said Marwan Effendy, the deputy attorney general for internal supervision.

Prosecutors alleged that the three were given $21,800 by a suspect named Laurens Joosvia Marpaung, alias Edi Johnson, to buy 4 kilograms of crystal meth from an unidentified dealer in South Jakarta in November.

Lawyers said $10,000 was used for the drugs, while the rest was the brothers’ payment.

The defendants have been in custody since November.

Meanwhile, customs officials said on Wednesday that another Malaysian man was arrested for smuggling 1.4 kilograms of heroin into the country.

Ganesan Sanmugam, 24, was arrested on Friday shortly after landing in Surabaya with drugs worth around Rp 2.1 billion ($245,000) hidden in his luggage, officials said.

“The heroin was wrapped in aluminium foil and hidden inside the suitcase pocket,” said Buhari Sirait, a customs official.

Sanmugam later admitted to police that he had carried the drugs but claimed he was only a courier, the official added.