Awaiting fate … Michael Czugaj. Photo: AP

Eight other prisoners, and nine sets of family and friends, will hang on every word. The prosecution's sentencing request for the 21-year-old drug "mule" should reveal whether Indonesian authorities remain intent on standing the so-called Bali nine before firing squads for attempting to smuggle heroin.

Within five weeks, judges plan to deliver their sentences in all nine cases. Guilty verdicts are as good as certain but imposing the maximum penalty would ignite a diplomatic timebomb for Australia and Indonesia.

Although Australia opposes the death penalty, Australian Federal Police decided to help the Indonesians arrest the nine after learning of the plot, instead of apprehending them when they flew back to Australia.

Indonesian officials refuse to discuss the probability of executions, but there are hints some death sentences will be handed down. Ten days ago Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, said he anticipated that "in terms of bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia that the sentence that might be delivered by our courts might create an emotional reaction on the part of the Australian public".

Mr Wirayuda noted that the public outcry that greeted Singapore's hanging of the Australian drug courier Nguyen Tuong Van soon faded. "Like the case of the Australian citizen in Singapore, I think after a while there will be a good understanding, because it is not only that the death penalty is imposed to Australians, but also to other traffickers, both foreign and domestic," he said.

The sentences were an issue for Indonesia alone, he warned, but Jakarta has taken a keen interest in the calls beginning to be made by prosecutors tomorrow, mindful of the international sensitivities.

Those handling the prosecutions admit that their decisions are being run past the Atorney-General, Abdul Rahman. His

spokesman, Masyhudi Ridwan, said it was "standing procedure for high-profile cases" to be reported to the attorney-general, who usually agreed with the sentence proposal "because the prosecutors in charge of the case are the ones who know the case best".

Any Australian request for leniency would be ignored, Mr Ridwan said. "We will not consider it, we're really serious with the Bali nine case is about drugs destroys our young generation."

The Bali nine ... from top to bottom rows, left to right: Matthew Norman, 18, Renae Lawrence, 27, Myuran Sukumaran, 24, Andrew Chan, 21, Scott Rush, 19, Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, 27, Martin Stephens, 29, Michael Czugaj, 19 and Si Yi Chen, 20

Australia will lobby Indonesia if the Bali Nine are sentenced to death for trying to smuggle heroin, Acting Prime Minister Mark Vaile says.

All members of the Bali Nine, arrested and charged with heroin trafficking last year, face a possible death penalty.

Three of the Bali Nine - Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj and Renae Lawrence - will hear this week whether Indonesian prosecutors will demand their execution if they are found guilty.

Mr Vaile, who is personally opposed to capital punishment, said the federal government would plead for clemency if any of the Bali Nine were sentenced to death.

"We need to respect the legal system and the process that's underway in Bali and Indonesia now, as we would expect other countries to have that same regard for our legal system if we had foreigners facing charges in Australia," Mr Vaile told Macquarie Radio.

"But certainly in terms of the death penalty and capital punishment we have in the past sought and made representations to foreign governments seeking clemency.

"I wouldn't see that circumstance changing in this case.

"I would imagine the overwhelming majority of Australians, and I include myself in this, are absolutely opposed to capital punishment."

Czugaj will have to wait until Friday to find out whether prosecutors want him to live or die after a sudden delay forced frustrated judges to postpone a crucial court hearing on Tuesday.

Czugaj, 20, of Brisbane, appeared at Denpasar District Court to hear what penalty the prosecution thinks he should get if he is found guilty of conspiring to smuggle 8.3 kg of heroin to Australia.

However, the court adjourned the hearing until Friday after prosecutors said they were not ready, worrying defence lawyers who say the delay could eat into time they need to complete their case.

Prosecutor Suhadi initially cited computer problems, but later said the main reason for the delay was that prosecutors had been held up by a three-day seminar and had not finished writing the sentencing request.

Chief judge I Putu Widnya appeared frustrated, saying he is obliged to allocate equal time to the prosecution and defence to wind up their cases before the court could deliver its verdict.

"This is your last chance because we are running out of time," Widnya told Suhadi.

A deadline set under Indonesian law mandates that all Bali Nine cases must be completed and verdicts handed down before the end of February.

If the court misses the deadline, it must request a special extension to keep the Nine in detention.

Czugaj sat through a nerve-wracking four-hour wait inside the sweltering holding cell at the back of the court for the hearing to begin.

He showed no emotion as he was led away after the adjournment.

No family members were present.

Defence lawyer Fransiskus Passar said he was disappointed by the delay.

"I am worried that we won't have enough time to respond to the sentencing request, because the detention period ends on February 23," he said after the hearing.

Prosecutors have been consulting with the Indonesian Attorney-General's office in Jakarta on what sentences they should request for the Nine.

They are scheduled to submit two other requests this week: on Thursday for Czugaj's mate Scott Rush, another 20-year-old Queenslander, and on Friday for Newcastle woman Renae Lawrence, 28.

Also, a sentencing request is to be made on January 24 for Sydney martial arts expert Myuran Sukumaran, who appeared at a separate hearing to hear testimony from defence expert witnesses.

The court rejected an application from Sukumaran's lawyer Mochamad Rifan for another hearing to present witnesses, saying he could only bring further witnesses on Tuesday before the sentencing request.

Rifan said he was "very disappointed" by the court's decision.

It had given the prosecution several months to present its case against Sukumaran, but only gave the defence two weeks, he said.

Prosecutors allege Sukumaran helped alleged godfather Andrew Chan strap the packages of drugs to the four mules' bodies and helped coordinate the botched smuggling mission.

The trial of Micahel Czugaj, 20, along with eight other Australians accused of trying to smuggle heroin home from Bali, has potential ramifications for Indonesia's relations with Australia, which opposes the death penalty.

Judge Putu Wignya who heads the panel of judges at the Denpasar district court in Denpasar, the main city on Bali, postponed the hearing to Friday to give prosecutors more time to prepare their recommendations to the panel.

The hearing opened hours later than scheduled as prosecutors failed to appear. A lone member of the team, Suhardi, eventually arrived and addressed the panel to ask for more time to finalize their recommendations.

"We are asking for more time because we are currently not yet ready with the recommendation," Suhardi said.

Under the Indonesian judicial system, the prosecutors consider all testimony and evidence available before making recommendations to the panel about how they should rule and what penalty they should mete out.

Judges are not bound by the recommendations.

Czugaj and the eight other Australians, dubbed the "Bali Nine", were arrested in April after a tip-off by Australian police and are accused of attempting to smuggle 11.2 kilograms of heroin.

Prosecutors have said Czugaj, from Brisbane, was caught red-handed with 2.4 kilograms of heroin strapped to his body. He was one of four alleged members of the smuggling ring detained as they were waiting to board a flight to Sydney. The other fivewere arrested at a Bali hotel.

All of the group could face death by firing squad if found guilty under Indonesia's strict drug laws although prosecutors could seek life sentences instead.

The involvement of the Australian Federal Police in their case sparked criticism from human rights groups, lawyers and ordinary Australians, who say the nine should have been arrested when they landed in Australia.

Denpasar - Indonesian prosecutors on Tuesday sought a two-week delay before making their sentencing demand for the first of nine Australians on trial in Bali on charges of heroin trafficking.

Prosecutors had been due to make their argument on Tuesday. But instead of the requested two week delay, the chief judge told them to read the sentencing demand on Friday.

The group, dubbed the "Bali Nine" by Australian media, were arrested on the famous resort island last April trying to smuggle more than 8,2kg of heroin from Indonesia to their home country.

Brisbane native Michael Czugaj, accused of being a courier, was to be the first to hear the sentencing demands this week at the Denpasar district court.

"We are not prepared yet," prosecutor Suhadi told the court.

Czugaj, who was caught at the Bali airport with packages of heroin strapped to his body, and the eight others face charges that carry the maximum penalty of death.

It is unclear whether expected sentencing demands, scheduled to be delivered on Thursday for other members of the group, would also be delayed.

Indonesian police have vowed to crack down on illegal drugs on Bali, which they have said has become a hub for international narcotics distribution.

Courts here have delivered a string of tough sentences against foreigners over drugs charges.

They include Australian woman Schapelle Corby, sentenced to 20 years in jail last May after being found guilty of smuggling marijuana.