By Bose
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Authorities in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday carried out a public caning of an unmarried couple, subjecting them to a combined 140 lashes for engaging in sexual relations outside marriage and consuming alcohol.
The punishment took place at a public park in Banda Aceh, where the man and woman were whipped with a rattan cane before a crowd of spectators. During the exercise, the woman reportedly collapsed and was later evacuated by ambulance for medical attention.
Head of the Banda Aceh Sharia Police, Muhammad Rizal, confirmed that the couple received 100 lashes for violating Aceh’s ban on sex outside marriage, with an additional 40 lashes imposed for alcohol consumption.
Rizal said the sentence ranks among the most severe handed down since Aceh was granted special autonomy in 2001, a status that allows the province to enforce Islamic law alongside Indonesia’s national legal system.
“The punishment reflects the seriousness with which these violations are treated under our regulations,” he said.
The couple was not alone in facing punishment on Thursday. In total, six individuals were caned for breaching Islamic codes. Among them was a Sharia police officer and a woman who were found alone together in a private setting. Each received 23 lashes.
Rizal noted that the involvement of a law enforcement officer had drawn particular concern. “We do not shield anyone from the law, including our own personnel,” he said, adding that the incident had harmed the credibility of the Sharia enforcement agency.
Aceh remains the only province in Indonesia where public caning is legally sanctioned and routinely applied. The practice enjoys considerable local support and is promoted as a deterrent against offenses such as gambling, alcohol consumption, extramarital sex, and same-sex relationships.
In a similar case last year, two men were publicly flogged 76 times each after being convicted by a Sharia court for sexual conduct deemed unlawful under Aceh’s Islamic regulations.
