Caning of Malaysian woman who drank beer postponed

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By SEAN YOONG, Associated Press Writer Sean Yoong, Associated Press Writer – 16 mins ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The first woman in Muslim-majority Malaysia to face caning for drinking beer was reprieved Monday because of the holy month of Ramadan. Her family said she would rather get the thrashing with a rattan cane now and put the ordeal behind her.

Islamic officials had taken Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old mother of two, into custody and were driving her to a women's prison for the caning when they abruptly turned around and sent her back to her family home in northern Malaysia.

"She feels like a football being kicked around," Kartika's father, Shukarno Abdul Muttalib, told The Associated Press. "She's so exhausted and unhappy with the delay. She would prefer to just receive the six strokes and have everything finished."

Amnesty International, Malaysian lawyers and some politicians have condemned the sentence, while other critics have warned it would tarnish Malaysia's image as a moderate country. Islamic officials have defended it as necessary to uphold Islamic values — underscoring tensions between religious conservatives and more liberal and secular elements in society.

Beer, wine and liquor is widely available at shops, bars and restaurants in Malaysia, unlike in more austere Islamic nations such as Iran and Pakistan. Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities in Malaysia are free to consume alcohol but its Shariah law forbids Muslims — who make up 60 percent of the 27 million population — from drinking, although a minority of Muslims still indulge despite the religious stricture.

Islamic morality police — enforcement officials of the Islamic Religious Department — arrested Kartika in a raid for drinking beer at a hotel lounge at a beach resort in Cherating in Pahang state in December 2007. Kartika was sentenced to six lashes of a rattan cane by the Shariah court last month in what was considered a warning to other Muslims to abide by religious rules.

Islamic law provides for a three-year prison term and caning for Muslims caught drinking. Most previous offenders were fined and no woman has ever been caned.

The morality police are not a pervasive force in Malaysia, and most citizens were surprised at the verdict against Kartika.

Mohamad Sahfri Abdul Aziz, a state legislator in charge of religious affairs, said Monday the Attorney General's office advised that Kartika's caning should be delayed for compassionate reasons until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began Saturday.

"The sentence is not being canceled," Mohamad Sahfri said, without specifying exactly when it would be carried out.

In an interview with the AP last week, Kartika said she regretted drinking and was even willing to be caned in public in order to send a clear message to other Muslims to avoid alcohol. Authorities said the caning had to be done at a prison.

Government officials have remained silent on the issue even though the local media have reported on it extensively. The only prominent personality to comment has been former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

On Monday, he urged authorities to check Islamic teachings to determine whether it would be appropriate to cane Kartika for drinking.

"Is it possible that a judge may have been unfair or mistaken in his consideration? Is there no room in Islam for mercy toward those who commit an error for the first time?" Mahathir wrote on his widely read blog.

Chandra Muzaffar, president of the Malaysian think tank, International Movement for a Just World, said the international attention on Kartika's case could "provide ammunition" for some people to criticize Malaysia's capacity for religious tolerance.

"She should not be caned in the first place," Chandra said. "What we should do is advise her. This punitive psychology is a bane for Muslim societies, and we should get away from it."

Islamic officials had insisted that the caning's purpose is to educate rather than punish. They say the rattan cane supposed to be used on Kartika would be smaller and lighter than the one used for men, and that she will remain clothed.

Men convicted of crimes such as rape and bribery in Malaysia are caned on their bare buttocks, breaking the skin and leaving permanent scars.

Rattan canes used in the punishment are made from palm plants common in tropical parts of Asia. They have been used for decades for corporal punishments in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Separately Monday, officials in the central state of Selangor near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city, stepped up efforts to deter drinking by empowering mosque officials to arrest Muslims who consume liquor in public places, The Star newspaper's Web site quoted state lawmaker Hassan Ali as saying.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090824/ap_on_re_as/as_malaysia_caning_for_beer

[samanthajane13]

Malaysian court puts caning of woman on hold
By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer Vijay Joshi, Associated Press Writer – 37 mins ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – An Islamic court in Malaysia put on hold indefinitely the caning of a woman found guilty of drinking beer because the sentence was too harsh, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday.

The chief judge of Pahang state's Shariah court decided on Monday to defer the caning of 32-year old Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno pending a review, as it was deemed too extreme, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

"I am impressed with, and commend, the chief judge's wisdom for making the order of revision," Shahrizat told reporters.

Malaysia's home minister indicated the caning — which had been expected to be administered this week — was unlikely to be carried out, arguing the prisons department did not have staff with the expertise to administer the caning according to Shariah laws.

The developments will likely defuse growing consternation in Malaysia over the unusual sentencing, which if carried out would have made Kartika, a part-time model and mother of two, the first woman to be caned in the country.

Kartika was arrested by Islamic morality police for drinking beer at a beach resort in Pahang in December 2007. Her plight has drawn international attention to the use of Islamic laws and raised questions whether a radical brand of Islam is taking root in this traditionally moderate Muslim-majority country.

Malaysia's Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the country's 27 million people, are prohibited from drinking alcohol under the Shariah laws they are subject to. The offense is punishable by up to three years in prison and caning but most offenders have been let off with a fine in the past.

Malaysia's non-Muslims, the ethnic Chinese and Indians, are allowed to consume alcohol and are not subjected to Shariah laws but only civil laws.

The sentence Kartika received shocked many people, including Muslim leaders and commentators in Malaysia, even though the whipping — to be administered lightly with a thin cane — would largely be symbolic and not aimed at causing pain.

"I am relieved that the (Shariah) chief judge has ordered the whipping to be deferred pending a revision," Shahrizat said, adding that the sentence projected a "cruel image" of Malaysia.

Prime Minister Najib Razak also urged Kartika to appeal the sentence, saying she had several avenues to escape the punishment.

Kartika, however, refused, saying she simply wants to get it over with. "I don't want to appeal," Kartika told The Associated Press. "They shouldn't ask me to appeal."

Shahrizat denied that the call for Kartika to appeal — and the judiciary's indefinite postponement of the punishment — was an attempt by the government to save face in response to international condemnation. She said the government wants to ensure that the spirit of the Islamic legal system was implemented properly.

Kartika's sister, Ratna, said the family does not want to comment on the latest developments until the muddied waters are cleared.

"Kartika will not comment now. We are waiting for a letter to see what the Pahang (Shariah judge) has to say about this," she told the AP.

Authorities postponed the caning on Monday until after the holy month of Ramadan, which ends in mid-September. The last-minute reprieve was given after Kartika was picked up from her father's home in northern Perak state by three religious officials. They brought her back home 30 minutes later.

Malaysia's Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters that the caning could not have been carried out anyway since the Prisons Department has no staff experienced to administer the caning in compliance with Shariah laws.

"I have to admit we do not have experience in this case ... I cannot allow it if we do not have the expertise," said Hishammuddin, whose ministry handles police and prisons.

"As long as the Home Ministry is not ready the sentence will not be carried out. If we do not have the person to do this (caning), how are we to carry out the sentence fairly?"

___

Associated Press writers Sean Yoong and Eileen Ng contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090825/ap_on_re_as/as_malaysia_caning_for_beer

[samanthajane13]

Should a Muslim Mother Be Caned for Drinking a Beer?
By BARADAN KUPPUSAMY / KUALA LUMPUR Baradan Kuppusamy / Kuala Lumpur – 17 mins ago

Malaysia prides itself on being a multi-ethnic democracy where numerous religions co-exist. But its reputation as a moderate Muslim-majority nation has been called into question by a month-long controversy over whether a Muslim mother of two, Kartika Sari Dewi, should be whipped for a peculiar crime: drinking a beer in public. On August 24, Kartika was due to become the first woman in Malaysia to be caned, after an Islamic court sentenced her to six lashes in July. But Islamic officials suddenly delayed the corporal punishment just hours before she was to endure the lashing.

Kartika, 32, had steeled herself to her punishment after having pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol while at a resort in 2007. On Monday morning, she donned an Islamic headscarf, planted a kiss on the cheek of her five-year-old daughter and got into a van that was due to make the 270 km journey to a women's prison outside the capital Kuala Lumpur. Instead, the van pulled over after just 200 m, while officials from the Prisons Department, the Attorney General's chambers and the Islamic courts argued over the case. In the end, a decision was made to defer the caning because of the Ramadan fasting season that had started on Sunday. "This is sad, [because] I am being kicked about like a football," Kartika said on her return home. "I was hoping to be caned and get on with my life."

As Kartika awaits her punishment, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke out on Tuesday, advising her to appeal her sentence. Kartika's case has sparked global condemnation, and presumably Najib would prefer not to deal with any body blows to Malaysia's international status. "I believe the authorities concerned are sensitive on this matter and realize the implications of this case," he said at a press conference. "I feel the person concerned should appeal to the state authorities and not be so willing to accept the punishment."

Malaysia operates a dual-track legal system, in which Muslims are bound by Shari'a law for certain issues, while non-Muslims are processed through civil courts. While alcohol consumption is illegal for Muslims according to Shari'a law, many people of the Islamic faith in Malaysia do drink and prosecution for such a crime is rare. Perhaps fearing a backlash from Islamic officials, Kartika lodged a police report on Monday saying she is not a party to the decision to postpone the caning. "We don't want to be blamed later," she said, "[by people who might say]that we had avoided punishment and embarrassed Islam."

Prisons Department officials are also facing a dilemma of how to carry out the caning. "We have have never done it to a woman and we don't know how to do it," said a department senior official who asked not to be named. There is not a single female in the department trained in the "Islamic way" to cane. Nevertheless, prominent Islamic officials in Malaysia have expressed disappointment at the reprieve. "The punishment is light and designed to shame, not to cause physically pain," Harussani Zakaria, an influential cleric, told TIME. "It must be carried out." Counters Amnesty International's Malaysia director Nora Murat: "Whipping is a form of torture and should not be condoned."

Back at her village, Kartika break down into tears as friends come to comfort her. As she counts down the days to her fate, it is Malaysia's image as a moderate and inclusive Islamic nation that will continue to take a beating.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090826/wl_time/08599191842400