Two Indonesian couples caned for extramarital affairs in Muslim province

Two Indonesian couples caned for extramarital affairs in Muslim province

2011-04-09 04:48:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

ACEH, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Two Indonesian couples on Friday were publicly caned for having had extra marital affairs in a conservative Muslim province in Aceh, the Jakarta Globe reported.

Two men and two women were accused of sex offences in the Muslim-majority community in northern Indonesia. A crowd of about 200 people gathered after morning prayers.

The four individuals were struck in front of a mosque in Jantho, southeast of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. Indonesia has allowed Aceh province to implement a version of the Sharia law.

One man and one woman were lashed nine times each for having an affair while being married to another people. The other man was caned for taking a photograph of a teenager wearing transparent clothes.

The 18-year old woman received 4 lashes while the 40-year-old man was hit seven times. Caning is used in the region as a punishment purportedly to cause shame rather than injuries.

In December 2010, a man and a woman were caned in Aceh province. The couple was lashed in public after they were caught kissing while married to other individuals.

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