Former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni has failed in a final bid to challenge his four-year prison sentence, imposed in 2003 in relation to fraud.

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Monday dismissed his application for leave to appeal against the sentence.

In a letter to the legal teams in the matter, the court registrar wrote: "The court ordered on 21 August 2006 that the application be refused."

No reasons were given for the ruling.

Yengeni's attorney, Marius du Toit, told Sapa: "It goes without saying that he's immensely disappointed. We all are. That's all I'm prepared to say."

Du Toit said Yengeni had to report to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town within 72 hours to start serving his sentence.

Du Toit said Yengeni would be eligible for early release after serving eight months of his sentence.

Yengeni filed papers in the court in June this year to appeal against his sentence.

The application asked for leave to appeal directly to the SCA against his fraud sentence, and for condonation for the late filing of the application.

The Pretoria High Court turned down Yengeni's earlier application for leave to appeal to the SCA on April 26.

His bail of R10 000 was increased to R30 000 and extended by two Pretoria high court judges in May.

The extension was made pending the serving of a petition on the president of the SCA for leave to appeal against his sentence and any subsequent appeal if his petition was successful.

The Pretoria Regional Court sentenced Yengeni in March 2003 to four years imprisonment for defrauding Parliament over a discount he received on a 4x4 Mercedes-Benz from a bidder in the country's multi-million rand arms deal.

Yengeni was the chairman of the parliamentary joint standing committee on defence at the time.

His appeal against the regional court's sentence - to the Pretoria High Court - was dismissed in November last year.

The High Court rejected his claim that he had been promised a lesser sentence under a plea bargain entered into with the State.

High court judges Eberhardt Bertelsmann and Ferdi Preller also found that Yengeni had abused his position of trust as a Member of Parliament and should have been given a more severe sentence.

In an affidavit, filed with other papers at the SCA, Yengeni submitted that the regional court magistrate and the high court had, when pronouncing sentence, overemphasised the position of trust which he occupied as a Member of Parliament.

He contended the regional court was also wrong in finding that he showed no remorse.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and Independent Online.