Terengganu mulls public areas for caning sentences under shariah law

State says approval from local authorities will be required to carry out caning sentences in public areas.

Terengganu information, propagation and shariah empowerment committee chairman Khalil Abdul Hadi said possible areas include the public square near the Terengganu drawbridge in Kuala Terengganu. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Terengganu is exploring the possibility of conducting caning for shariah offences in public venues such as parks, markets and squares.

In a Bernama report, Terengganu information, propagation and shariah empowerment committee chairman Khalil Abdul Hadi said approval from local authorities would be required to carry out caning sentences in such public places.

Apart from recreational parks, Khalil said the public square located near the Terengganu drawbridge and the Payang market – both in Kuala Terengganu – are other public areas where caning sentences could be carried out.

Khalil said nine mosques in Terengganu had been gazetted as official locations for the execution of caning sentences under shariah law outside of prisons – which came into effect on Nov 20 last year.

He said the mosques were gazetted after receiving the consent of the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, and the approval of the Terengganu Islamic religious and Malay customs council.

Two mosques have been selected in the Kuala Terengganu district while one mosque has been chosen in each of the state’s other seven districts.

“These locations were selected to facilitate management and ensure the execution process follows the prescribed procedures,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after the Terengganu state legislative assembly sitting at Wisma Darul Iman in Kuala Terengganu.

Based on the Shariah Criminal Offences Enactment (Takzir) (Terengganu) Amendment 2022, a person convicted of khalwat for the second and subsequent times can be punished with up to six strokes of the cane, a fine of up to RM5,000 or three years in prison.

Last December, a 42-year-old man convicted by the shariah court for khalwat was caned in front of 90 witnesses at the Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Mosque in Kuala Terengganu.

The father of five was the first person in Terengganu to be caned publicly.

The caning sentence was imposed on him as it was his second offence. He was fined in July 2023 for a similar offence.

The punishment drew criticism from various groups, including the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), which accused the Terengganu shariah court of overstepping its jurisdiction.

G25, a group of prominent retired civil servants, also warned that public caning contravenes both federal and shariah laws.

Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin previously said rejecting public caning for shariah offences did not mean opposing Islamic teachings.

“There is no stipulation in Islamic law requiring khalwat offenders to be caned in public,” he had said in a Facebook post. - FMT