A three-member bench chaired by Justice P Ravinthran ordered the jail term for Azmi Mat Hussin, a father of 10, to begin on Nov 15, 2018, the day he was charged and remanded in prison.

A magistrate had previously ordered that the custodial sentence begin on Nov 27, 2019, the day he changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced.

Azmi, who was represented by Izleen Ismail, appealed against the sentence.

Handing down the ruling, Ravinthran, who sat with Justices Zaidi Ibrahim and Azman Abdullah, said the court had discretion to determine when a jail sentence ought to begin.

The bench also reduced the sentence of 25 strokes of the rotan imposed by the magistrate to 24, the maximum allowed under Section 288(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

“(Since) he is now 51 years old, the whipping will be inflicted in the way of school discipline with a light rotan (in line with Section 288(4) of the CPC),” said Ravinthran, a remark which elicited laughter from Azmi, who was in the dock.

Deputy public prosecutor Fauziah Daud appeared for the prosecution.

Azmi was convicted of cheating and dishonestly misappropriating cars, motorcycles and mobile phones worth about RM200,000 belonging to others for his own use.

He admitted to committing the offence at apartments in Shah Alam and Sungai Buloh in Selangor, at a bank in Melaka, and in Kuala Lumpur between July 31, 2017, and Dec 27, 2017.