Kuala Terengganu Sharia High Court and Wan Abdul Malik Wan Sidek #fundie channelnewsasia.com

KUALA TERENGGANU, Terengganu: Two Malaysian women were caned Monday (Sep 3) for having lesbian sex in violation of strict Islamic laws, despite an outcry from activists at the "cruel and unjust" punishment.

The case has sparked widespread condemnation and focused attention on what rights groups say is a deteriorating climate for the gay community in the Muslim-majority country.

Campaigners said it was the first time that women in Malaysia have been caned for violating a sharia regulation which forbids same-sex relations.

The country operates a dual-track legal system. Islamic courts can handle religious and family matters for Muslim citizens, as well as cases such as adultery.

The women, aged 22 and 32, were arrested in April by Islamic enforcement officers after they were found in a car in a public square in the northern state of Terengganu, one of the country's most conservative areas.

The pair, whose identities have not been revealed, pleaded guilty last month to breaking Islamic laws and were sentenced to be whipped and fined 3,300 ringgit (US$800).

They were caned at the Sharia High Court in the state capital Kuala Terengganu.

A judge read out their sentence just before 10am (0300 GMT) and then officials meted out the punishment using thin canes in front of a packed courtroom, according to a journalist in the court.

[...]

Court official Wan Abdul Malik Wan Sidek defended the punishment, saying it was not as tough as caning carried out for numerous crimes under Malaysia's civil law.

Caning under Islamic law is carried out with a relatively thin cane on subjects who are fully clothed, and is more about humiliation than causing pain.

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