A 42-year-old Malaysian man was publicly shot on Friday ( Dec. 27 ) in Terengganu for the Islamic offence of khalwat, or close proximity between a man and a woman who are not related by family ties.  ,
The unique abuse, which has stoked vigorous conversation, took place at the Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Mosque in Kuala Terengganu after Friday prayers.  ,
Carpenter Mohd Affendi Awang, a father of five, is the first person to be caned for repeated khalwat offences under Terengganu’s amended Syariah Criminal Offences ( Takzir ) Enactment 2022, which came into effect on Jan 1, local media reported.
On November 20, Terengganu Syariah High Court Judge Kamalruazmi Ismail sentenced him to six brows.
He admitted to khalwat with a 52-year-old girl at 1.40am on June 16 at a home in Pengkalan Ranggon community, Kemaman. He was caught for the crime three more times.
He was likewise fined RM4, 000, with six weeks ‘ prison in terms if the great is not paid.  ,
Affendi’s punishment is the next reported people caning case in Terengganu.
The first incident occurred in 2018 when two people were caned six days in the state’s Supreme Court for having sex in a vehicle.  ,
Like the 2018 event, Affendi’s punishment has sparked discussion, with competitors slamming the work as dehumanising and savage.
” DEGRADING” PRACTICE OR PREVENTION OF” MORAL DECAY”?
Several organizations have urged the state government to rethink the exercise and reevaluate laws to make sure they are fair, rehabilitative, and upholding human dignity since his sentencing next month.  ,
In a statement released on Thursday ( Dec. 26 ), Malaysian Bar President Mohammad Ezri Abdul Wahab said,” We reiterate our unwavering stance against all forms of corporal punishment, including caning and whipping,” which are inherently cruel, inhumane, and degrading.  ,
Malaysia aims to be a country that adheres to international human rights requirements, but the statement read,” Although allowing public punishment is against international human rights rules,” the statement read.  ,
Women’s rights group Sisters in Islam ( SIS ) earlier called on the Terengganu religious authorities to stop the “dehumanising” and “barbaric act”.
The group claimed in a speech on November 22 that the sentence lacks any meaningful purpose in justice or moral reform, arguing that it is inappropriate to carry it out at a dome.  ,
Sisters also criticised the explanation of common punishment as a form of “education” and said it is in striking contrast with” Islam’s key principles of justice, compassion, kindness and the preservation of human dignity”.
A group called G25, which is made up of well-known retired civil servants, called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to step in and demand that the punishment be implemented on Sunday ( Dec 22 ).
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia ( Suhakam ), which claimed the Terengganu Syariah High Court lacked the legal authority conferred by the Syariah Courts ( Criminal Jurisdiction ) Act 1965 ( Act 355 ), refuted this assertion.  ,
According to Suhakam, Act 355 simply permits punishment, no common punishment.  ,
” It also makes us question whether genuine justice is being served in this case, especially when the defendant’s five children may be physically harmed by the public spectacle of their husband’s punishment”, G25 added in its assertion, as quoted by Free Malaysia Now.