Man Flogged in Mosque for Spending Time Alone with Woman

• A sharia court has convicted a 42-year-old construction worker for spending time alone with a woman
• The man was publicly flogged with six lashes inside a mosque in Malaysia’s conservative state of Terengganu on Friday, December 27
• It was gathered that it was the first time Sharia court-ordered whipping took place outside of a court setting in Malaysia

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 7 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events

Malaysia - A 42-year-old construction worker was publicly flogged with six lashes inside a mosque for spending time alone with a woman who was neither his wife nor a relative in Malaysia.

The flogging took place in Malaysia’s conservative state of Terengganu on Friday, December 27.

The Sharia court for the Islamic offence convicted the construction worker of gender mixing crime.

According to France 24, the man was delivered to the mosque in a prison van after Friday prayers.

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Sharia court: Man gets flogged in mosque for spending time alone with woman

It was the first instance of a Sharia court-ordered whipping taking place outside of a court setting in Malaysia.

The caning in punishment for the Islamic crime known as "khalwat" took place inside the mosque after the man arrived at the mosque wearing an orange inmate's jumpsuit.

37-year-old spectator Mohd Sabri Muhammad said he hoped it would deter those "tempted to commit immoral acts".

"Valentine's Day, New Year's, there are many opportunities for young people to engage in inappropriate behavior,"

Critics said caning aims to humiliate as well as physically punish the recipient even though it takes place on a fully clothed person.

Malaysian Bar Association of lawyers said it had "profound concern" over the decision to flog the man.

"Such punishments strip individuals of their dignity."

Multi-ethnic Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with Islamic courts handling some matters for Muslim citizens.

Man sentenced to 10 strokes of cane

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Shari’ah Court delivered its judgement in a case involving 25-year-old Haruna Abdulkarim who pretended to have converted from Christianity to Islam in Kano state.

Abdulkarim was sentenced to 10 strokes of cane as punishment for falsely claiming conversion to Islam.

The accused confessed that debt insolvency pushed him to falsely claim that he had converted to Islam from Christianity.

Source: Legit.ng