A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Justice Azman Abdullah reduced the number of lashes for Nur Azmuddin Noor, 45, to the minimum of 12 strokes allowed for male traffickers below 50 years of age.

The 15 strokes were imposed by the High Court in Sungai Petani last year. A maximum of 24 strokes is permitted under Section 288 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Azman, sitting with Justices Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin and Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, said the bench reached a unanimous decision to allow the appeal after hearing submissions.

Azmuddin’s lawyer, Diar Isda Yazmin Ismail, said her client had been jointly charged with his wife for trafficking 113.201kg of cannabis at a house in Taman Ria, Sungai Petani, on Feb 3, 2017.

She said the prosecution offered to withdraw the charge against his wife, provided that Azmuddin pleaded guilty to the trafficking charge, which he did.

“A minimum number of rotan strokes should be imposed as he saved judicial time by pleading guilty,” she said.

Deputy public prosecutor Siti Rafidah Zainuddin however urged the bench to maintain the 15 strokes, citing the excessive weight of the drugs.

She also noted that the Federal Court had imposed the minimum 12 strokes for a trafficker caught with 325.7g of cannabis.

Under the law, a person is presumed to be a trafficker if found in possession of 200g or more of cannabis.