Two Malaysian men were sentenced to ten years in prison Tuesday for brutally slaying an Australian businessman.

The two, Low Kian Boon, 21 and a 20-year-old whose name was withheld by the court, were found guilty of murdering Hans Herzog three years ago.

Handing down the sentence, Judge KN Segara said the jail terms would date from November 2003, when the pair were arrested, the national Bernama news agency reported.

The men were found guilty of the crime in early April, but escaped the death penalty.

No mitigating factors

Segara said whatever sentence the two men received would be considered light after being spared capital punishment.

"The court could not find any mitigating factors that would help in this case, so the court has no choice but to hand down the maximum sentence of ten years' jail," he was quoted as saying.

On November 12, 2003, the 59-year-old victim was found in a pool of blood with slash wounds on his body in the home he shared with his Malaysian wife of three years.

Herzog's two teenage step-daughters, then aged 14 and 16, were also originally charged with the killing. Low was the boyfriend of the younger girl.

The sisters were acquitted in February when Segara ruled there was no evidence to show they were involved.

According to reports, the sisters had sought escape from their home due to alleged abuse by Herzog, and that Low had previously tried to arrange for someone to beat up the Australian.