KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — The High Court in Muar today reduced the three-month prison sentence of a widower convicted of banana theft, allowing him to walk free after time already served.

According to Berita Harian, Judge Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid replaced the original three-month sentence with ten days, stating that the initial punishment was excessive.

"The court believes the magistrate’s decision was disproportionate to the offence committed by the defendant,” he was quoted as saying during the appeal today.

Muhammad Fadil Ismail, 35, who was convicted of stealing a bunch of bananas on January 4, had served the revised sentence starting from his arrest and is now set to be released.

The judge said that the Batu Pahat Magistrate’s Court also failed to account for the mitigating factors when it handed out the sentence.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Asmah Zainal Abidin represented the prosecution during the review hearing, while Muhammad Fadil, a truck assistant, had no legal representation.

The theft, which occurred in Kampung Sungai Bagan Laut, Rengit, was reported by the orchard owner, who identified the culprit through CCTV footage after noticing frequent losses of his rastali bananas.

The original sentence had been imposed under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which allows for up to seven years of imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.