Man, woman receive 140 strokes of cane for having sex, drinking alcohol

A couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province was publicly caned 140 times each on Thursday for having sex outside marriage and consuming alcohol, in one of the harshest punishments recorded under the region’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that enforces a version of sharia law, where sexual relations between unmarried couples are strictly prohibited.

The punishment took place in a public park in Banda Aceh, where dozens of residents watched as the man and woman were struck with rattan sticks on their backs.

AFP reporters at the scene said the woman fainted after enduring the lashes and had to be escorted to an ambulance.

According to Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh’s Sharia police, the couple received 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage and an additional 40 for consuming alcohol.

“It is our duty to enforce the law equally. No one is exempt, not even our own officers,” Rizal told reporters.

He added that the couple’s punishment is believed to be one of the highest numbers of lashes imposed since Aceh was granted special autonomy in 2001, which allowed it to implement Sharia regulations.

The couple was among six people publicly flogged on Thursday for breaching Islamic codes.

Among them were a sharia police officer and his female partner, who were caught in close proximity in a private setting. That pair received 23 lashes each.

Caning remains widely supported in Aceh as a punishment for offences such as gambling, drinking alcohol, same-sex relations, and sexual activity outside marriage.

Last year, two men were publicly flogged 76 times each after being convicted of sexual relations by the sharia court.

While the practice draws international criticism for its severity and public nature, local authorities insist it is a deterrent against moral and religious violations in the deeply conservative province.