Kelantan passes syariah bill allowing whipping in public

The Kelantan state legislative assembly today passed an amended syariah bill which provides for, among other things, the punishment of whipping to be carried out in public.

The Syariah Criminal Procedure Enactment 2002 (Amendment 2017) Bill also empowers religious enforcement officers to handcuff suspects and allow video clips to be used as evidence in trials.

The amendment to the bill was tabled by the chairperson of the state Islamic development, propagation, information and public relations committee, Mohd Nassuruddin Daud.

Speaker Abdullah Yaa’kub announced that the bill was passed with the unanimous support of the state assemblypersons present.

When tabling the motion, Mohd Nassuruddin said several factors were taken into account in proposing the amendment.

- Bernama