Model to become first Malaysian woman to be caned under Sharia

Kuantan (Malaysia), July 22 (ANI): A part-time model, sentenced for drinking beer at a nightclub, is set to become the first Malaysian woman to be caned under Sharia law after she decided not to appeal against her sentence.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was sentenced to six strokes of the rotan and a fine of 5,000 ringgits on Monday, the New Strait Times reports.

The mother of two, who is married to a Singaporean, wants the sentence to be carried out as soon as possible, her lawyer Mohammad Zuki Che Muhamad Ghani said.

However, Kartika's readiness to be the first Muslim woman to be caned under Section 136 of the Pahang Islamic and Malay Traditional Practices Enactment 1982 (amendment 1987) posed a dilemma for the authorities.

Judge Abdul Rahman Yunus, who had handed down the sentence on Kartika, had said the caning would be carried out by the federal prison authorities.

Ghani said the prison authorities could not carry it out as the judgment did not include a jail term.

Now, the court has decided to issue a special warrant to detain Kartika.

Meanwhile, Pahang Syariah chief prosecutor Abdul Rahim Jaafar said the caning would not cause physical injury, as it was merely to make the offender feel repentant. (ANI)