Kuala Lumpur, Aug 27 - Former model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who was to be caned after she drank beer in public, cannot file an appeal against the sentence as the 14-day period for her to do so has expired.

It is now up to Syariah Chief Judge Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahman, who is also the state Syariah Court of Appeal chief judge, to revise the July 20 decision of the Syariah High Court judge.

Chief Judge Rahman heads the judicial machinery under the Islamic law applicable to the majority Malay Muslims.

The state religious department (Jaip) said it will not appeal against the high court verdict and under the law, no other party can appeal on behalf of Kartika, New Straits Times said Thursday.

This creates a new obstacle for Malaysian authorities who are keen to avoid Kartika becoming the first woman to be caned as it could affect Malaysia's image as a moderate multi-religious society.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak suggested last Monday that Kartika should appeal against the verdict and the authorities could consider it.

Kartika, 32, was fined and sentenced to six strokes of the rotan by the Syariah High Court here after she pleaded guilty to drinking beer at a nightclub in Cherating in 2007.

The part-time model settled the fine but refused to appeal, saying she was ready to be caned.

Jaip had obtained a warrant to detain Kartika at the Kajang women's prison for a week, starting from Monday, to enable the caning to be carried out.

However, it was postponed following advice from Rahman and the Attorney-General's office.