Malaysian model who drank beer escapes caning sentence
A Muslim woman sentenced to be caned for drinking beer has had her punishment commuted, in a surprising turnaround for a high-profile case that raised questions about Malaysia's Islamic laws.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 33-year-old mother of two, received a letter yesterday from the Pahang state Islamic department informing her that the state's sultan has decided to spare her the caning.
The order is likely to cool down a fiery debate over whether Islamic laws should intrude into people's private lives in this Muslim-majority country. Many people had condemned the punishment, saying it shows conservative Islamists are gaining influence over the justice system.
Her lawyer, Adham Jamalullail, said: “As a substitution for the caning, the sultan has ordered Kartika to perform community service for three weeks”.
Sultan Ahmad Shah is the guardian of Islam in the state, and its titular head. Most of Malaysia's 13 states are ruled by sultans who usually play a ceremonial role in governance but have the power to rule in Islamic matters.
Ms Kartika, a part-time model and nurse who was caught drinking in a hotel bar, said she has been ordered to present herself at the office of the religious authorities in Pahang, which is in the middle of the country, tomorrow.
"Right now I do not know what sort of punishment it will be," she told AFP. "I am waiting for clarifications from the religious authorities."
Ms Kartika was sentenced in July last year to six strokes of the cane and a fine of 5,000 ringgit (£860) for drinking beer in December 2007 at a beach resort in violation of Islamic laws. Islam prohibits Muslims from drinking alcohol.
Officials had said the caning would be very different to the corporal punishment administered on male criminals under secular civil laws. Drug offenders, kidnappers and others are caned with a thick rattan stick on bare buttocks that break the skin and leave lifelong scars.
Ms Kartika's punishment under Islamic laws would have been delivered with a thin cane on the back with her clothes on.
Ms Kartika, whose case has fuelled a debate over rising "Islamisation" of the multi-ethnic country, could have been the first woman to be caned under Islamic law in Malaysia.
But in a surprise move, three other women were caned in February for having sex out of wedlock.
Alcohol is widely available in Malaysia but is forbidden for Muslim Malays, who make up 60 per cent of the population. They can be fined, caned, or jailed for up to three years, but prosecutions are extremely rare.
.... this is the result of local and world pressure.... I personally believe that this whole issue was blown out of proportion by hypocrites who claim and proclaim abstinence.
Kartika, you have shown the world what 1Malaysia is.
No comments:
Post a Comment