In Indonesia, a woman fainted during a severe punishment session and had to be carried away for assistance. The incident occurred in Banda Aceh, where the unnamed woman received 100 lashes for allegedly engaging in extramarital sexual activities. Both her and her partner were publicly punished in the city, located in the northern part of Sumatra, for this transgression.
Footage from the event depicted the couple enduring the lashes with visible distress, culminating in the woman collapsing and needing aid from onlookers. Sharia law governs specific regions in the province where the punishment occurred, forbidding unmarried couples from engaging in sexual relations. Violators of religious regulations, such as gambling, alcohol consumption, and homosexual acts, can face public caning.
Reportedly, the penalty for child rape involves 200 cane strokes, up to 200 months of imprisonment, or a fine equivalent to two kilograms of gold. Earlier this year, an unidentified woman and her partner received a total of 140 lashes for consuming alcohol and engaging in extramarital sex. The head of Banda Aceh’s Sharia police, Muhammad Rizal, confirmed the punishment details.
Following the incident, the woman who lost consciousness required medical attention. The couple was part of a group of six individuals publicly whipped for breaching Islamic laws, which included a sharia police officer found with his female companion in a private setting. Mr. Rizal emphasized the importance of upholding the law without exceptions, even for law enforcement personnel, to maintain the reputation of the institution.
In a separate case, two men were each given 76 lashes by a Sharia court last year for engaging in homosexual activities. While gay sex is not illegal under Indonesian national law, the autonomy granted to Banda Aceh allows the province to enforce Sharia law independently, beyond federal intervention.