AMMAN (AFP) - A court on Tuesday halved the jail term of a 29-year-old man who shot his raped sister 12 times and killed her "in the name of honour", a judicial official said.

The Criminal Court initially sentenced the man to 15 years with hard labour for killing his sister in 2008 in Mwaqqar, but immediately reduced it to seven-and-a-half years.

The judgement can be appealed within 30 days.

"The woman disappeared from home for six months after she was raped last year," the official told AFP.

"Police kept the woman in custody for her protection and later handed her over to the family, but the brother shot her 12 times in different parts of her body once she arrived home, killing her immediately."

The man told police that he committed the crime "in the name of honour", according to the official.

It was not immediately clear whether police ever caught the rapist.

Murder is punishable by the death penalty in Jordan, but in the case of so-called "honour killings", a court usually commutes or reduces sentences, particularly if the victim's family urges leniency.

Between 15 and 20 women are murdered each year in Jordan in the name of "honour". Last year, around 17 such killings were recorded.