Btw from Bolehland:
Caned for Drinking.....
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking..._20090114.html
Jan 14, 2009
M'sian to be caned for drinking
KUALA LUMPUR - A RELIGIOUS court has sentenced a Muslim woman to
six strokes of the cane for drinking alcohol, possibly for the
first time in Malaysia.
The Syariah High Court in Pahang also handed the same sentence to a
man on Monday, and is due to make a decision on another woman in
May.
Mohamad Nasir Mohamad, 38, a father of four, and waitress Noorazah
Baharuddin, 22, were found drinking beer separately in pubs in July
last year in central Pahang state, said reports released
yesterday.
Nasir admitted that he had drunk beer at a pub in Cherating on July
11, while Noorazah was caught drinking at the pub where she worked,
in Jalan Gambut.
Both were also fined RM5,000 (S$2,100) each by the Pahang court on
Monday.
The third accused was part-time model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno,
32. According to the New Straits Times, Kartika, a Singapore
permanent resident, could not attend court as she is studying in
Singapore.
Judge Abdul Rahman Yunus said that he had given the maximum fine
and caning as a deterrent to other Muslims, but had spared them a
jail sentence.
'The caning is to shame them and should be done at any of the
prisons in the country,' he was quoted as saying by NST.
The case comes after two controversial fatwas, or edicts - one over
tomboyish behaviour by women and the other concerning the practice
of yoga - sparked intense public debate over decisions made by the
country's top religious body.
Malaysia has a two-track legal system, with the civil courts
operating alongside state-based syariah courts. Muslims are
governed by syariah laws in family and personal matters, while
ethnic Chinese, Indians and other races come under civil
courts.
According to NST, this is the second time such a sentence has been
handed down. In 2005, the same judge sentenced two Muslim brothers
to six strokes of the cane after they were caught drinking.
However, the caning has yet to be carried out as the men are
appealing against the decision.
Alcohol is widely available in Malaysia, and Muslims are rarely
punished for consuming it.
'It's rare but it's within the law and Muslims are subject to such
law in this country,' said lawyer Pawancheek Merican, a syariah law
committee member of the Malaysian Bar Council.
MP Salahuddin Ayub, the youth chief of the opposition Islamic party
PAS, said he 'agreed' with the court ruling. 'The ruling only
concerns Muslims and it does not affect the non-Muslims. It is to
remind the Muslims not to drink,' he said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
