Two Terengganu women to be caned for attempting sexual relations

Two women convicted for attempting sexual relations will be fined and caned, a prosecutor said today, in a rare case against same-sex couples in the country.

Islamic enforcement officers in Terengganu found the two Muslim women attempting to engage in sexual acts in a car during a patrol in April, according to prosecutor Muhamad Khasmizan Abdullah.

The women were charged under the Islamic sharia law known as musahaqah - which bans sex between two women - and sentenced to six strokes of the cane and a fine of RM3,300 each, this week after pleading guilty, the prosecutor said.

The conviction comes amid concerns about growing intolerance toward the LGBT community in Malaysia after activists criticised some officials for making homophobic remarks in recent weeks.

"Sexual intercourse between people of the same sex is forbidden in Islam. It is an offence and morally wrong," Muhamad Khasmizan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

"This verdict is a first for us," the prosecutor added, saying it was the first time people had been convicted for same-sex relations in Terengganu.

The two women, aged 32 and 22, are on bail pending the execution of the sentence on Aug 28, Muhamad Khasmizan said, adding that the religious officers who saw the women, found one in a state of undress, and also discovered a sex toy in the car.

"The caning would be carried out within the court premise.

"Under the syariah rules, they will be whipped with a rattan cane on their back with their clothes on while they are seated," he said.

Thilaga Sulathireh from rights group Justice for Sisters condemned the court's decision as a form of torture. She said there have been previous cases of lesbian couples being arrested, but it was not known if they were convicted.

"Consensual sex between adults is not a crime. This is a precedence and it will increase discrimination toward LGBT people," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A minister last week ordered the removal of portraits of two LGBT advocates from a public photography exhibition, sparking criticism from rights groups.

Sodomy is a crime in Malaysia, which is punishable by up to 20 years in jail, although enforcement of the law is rare.

- Thomson Reuters Foundation