Beer-Drinking Muslim Model, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, Sentenced To Public Flogging In Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — An Islamic court in Malaysia has sentenced a Muslim woman to be flogged with a rattan cane for having a beer in a nightclub, a court official said Tuesday.

It is rare for a woman in Malaysia to be sentenced to caning – a punishment usually reserved for men in various crimes ranging from rape to bribery.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was sentenced Monday to six lashes and a fine of 5,000 ringgit ($1,400) for consuming alcohol, said a Shariah High Court official who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to make public statements.

Shukarno, a 32-year-old model, pleaded guilty in the court in eastern Pahang state to a charge of drinking beer when Islamic authorities raided a hotel nightclub in August 2008.

Consuming alcohol is a religious offense in Malaysia only for Muslims, who make up nearly two-thirds of the population. Offenders are prosecuted in Shariah courts, which handle cases mainly related to family and moral issues for Muslims.

Most offenders are fined, but the law also provides for a three-year prison term and caning. Shukarno was the only Muslim caught in the raid at the Pahang nightclub.

Malaysian clubs and lounges typically serve alcohol but are not legally required to check if customers are Muslim before serving them, so the hotel nightclub operators were not charged with any offense.

Shukarno plans to appeal the sentence, the New Straits Times daily reported.

The punishment "is aimed at making the accused repent and serves as a lesson to Muslims," the newspaper quoted Judge Abdul Rahman Yunus as saying.

The judge did not elaborate on why he imposed a relatively severe sentence, but local media noted that he had a history of being tough on alcohol offenders.

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.

The caning sentence is generally carried out by specially trained officials at prisons.

Comments

[jhimmi]

03:20 PM on 08/19/2009

Let me preface this by saying I know some really nice Muslims, who wouldn't hurt a fly, just like you. That said, for those who are constantly equating Islam with Christianity, do you realize how ridiculous it sounds to compare whatever complaint you have against modern Christians with state backed Islamic death sentences for adultery, blasphemy, apostacy, and homosexuality? Do you think Islam will ever change if you keep making excuses for it?

If you had been around during the Salem witch trials, would your response have been to point out the violent histories of other religions, or would you have spoken out against it? I also have to assume you don't understand the difference between a religion's teachings and the actions of its followers, or the real differences between Islam and Christianity, to wit:
* Islam's'Perfect Human' vs. Christianity's 'Perfect Human', the behavior of whom should be emulated.
* The concept of abrogation in Islam and in Christianity.
* Islamic Sharia and fiqh.
* Christian Reformation.
* The Battle of Tours, the Crusades, the Battle of Vienna, the Spanish Reconquista and the Inquisition, all of which were European responses to Muslim military invasions and occupations. (in other words, the Crusaders and the Conquistadors were the resistance, or 'freedom fighters'. Sounds cool, huh?)

When you fully understand these things, you can comment more intelligently on Islam, Christianity, and a comparison of the two.

[mamacat]

09:21 AM on 07/22/2009

No thank you.

Still, women didn't have the right to vote in the U.S. when my Mom was born, and Blacks couldn't vote throughout most of the former Confederate States of America until the late 1960s. Change needs to come to many places of the world, including the U.S. of A., and we should try to avoid thinking that this sort of thing couldn't have happened in America at one time.

[ipv4]

02:34 PM on 08/04/2009

okay but this is 2009 where the internet exists. Their should no longer be an excuse for ignorance of this magnitude..

[Chaimirija]

09:00 AM on 07/22/2009

Seems to me the caner, and who is ever witnessing it, will ENJOY it.

[Ira7]

09:00 AM on 07/22/2009

This is kid's stuff compared to Singapore's capital punishment for throwing your chewing gum on the street.

[Kamen Ng]

09:46 AM on 07/23/2009

Chewing bum is banned in Singapore. You will not find chewing gum in any convenience store over there.

That's what they tell you on TV. In reality, you can purchase them across the border in J.B. in Malaysia, and safely chew them on the streets in Singapore. No cop will stop or harass you (or in our case, any holy-book-thumping religious leader), that is, until you spit them on the pavement.

Littering in Singapore, unlike the US or any of your average decrepit cities (such as mine), come with a fine. Chewing gum at one time was used as a means of "sabo"-ing (Singrish for sabotage) people in movie theaters and other public places. At one point it became so rampant that the government had no choice but to wholesale ban it.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070318/26litter.htm

If you live in a Chinese country long enough, you'll understand that Chinese people outside any western country have only one fear and one love in life: $$$.

An Asian Islamic state however works on a wholly different principle, and is usually a lot more severe. You need to come and visit both Singapore and Malaysia to see the difference for yourself.

[WonderingNThinking]

02:29 AM on 07/22/2009

This article is inaccurate and misleading. Allah forbid, I've been out drinking alcohol, in most parts of Malaysia, with many a Muslim, with nary a word about it being illegal. The people are so similar to us in most ways.

It kills me that they make it sound like all of Malaysia is like this. Malaysia is very progressive. Kota Bharu is the only province in Malaysia that I know of with a religious judicial system (by choice), with rules like this. One rule I recall is there are segregated swimming pools.

Why is this article here? Is Malaysia our new enemy and the fear mongering has begun?

[WonderingNThinking]

02:38 AM on 07/22/2009

P.S. From what I understand you can chose to follow a religious judicial system elsewhere in Malaysia, but it's religious not governmental law.

[WonderingNThinking]

02:54 AM on 07/22/2009

For that matter you can chose to follow your own harsher judicial system anywhere - as long as it's not illegal :)

[WonderingNThinking]

03:52 AM on 07/22/2009

Oops. The province is Kelantan. Kota Bharu is the main city.

[napasonoma]

01:45 AM on 07/22/2009

Can't wait till NASA starts those shuttles to Mars; I'm packed and at the gate.

[nhop]

01:41 AM on 07/22/2009

Please remember, islam is a religion of peace and compassion.

Not.

[WonderingNThinking]

03:04 AM on 07/22/2009

Wow, the media has gotten to so many people. Reminds me of that song, "One Tin Soldier".

[chroma601]

01:06 PM on 07/22/2009

OK, Wondering, could you explain how this punishment is representative of "peace and compassion"?
I would rather learn the truth about Islam from a Muslim than from the press.

[lukiok]

02:03 AM on 07/23/2009

If that so, then punishment must come with love, peace and compassion not by anger. caning mean to scare u and will create revenge.

[sibster]

12:51 AM on 07/22/2009

this is pretty stupid

[emmtom]

12:27 AM on 07/22/2009

By the way, I believe God did make one mistake during Creation. After he created Adam, God looked at Adam and said, “Blah!”

But he corrected that mistake a little later: “And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, … “

And God looked at what he had done and yelled, “Perfection!”

[Eriq]

12:20 AM on 07/22/2009

Oh, good grief!! Malaysia again??
Geez, it's becoming more and more American each and every day.

[Kamen Ng]

09:19 AM on 07/23/2009

See RobBre's comment below? The penalty for being found with 7 oz. of Marijuana is death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis_by_country

Do you have that in America too?

[RobBre]

12:00 AM on 07/22/2009

It is about as silly as the marijuana prohibition.

[hmmmmmer]

11:51 PM on 07/21/2009

It gets harder daily to understand how this religion is followed by so many while it is so mean and hateful.

[WonderingNThinking]

03:34 AM on 07/22/2009

It's not mean and hateful at all. There are extremists and draconian laws followed by some members that fill media stories, but it's not what Islam is about. By the way, I'm not Muslim, but I studied the religion and have been to countries that practice it. Many good Muslim friends from my travels.

[chroma601]

02:52 PM on 07/22/2009

If it's not mean and hateful, why do their women have to wear burkas? Why is their "justice" so medieval? Why the fatwas? I am trying to find the kernel of kindness and compassion for others in this religion, but I keep hearing "Kill the Infidel!". I want to fathom this...

[Sandmanj]

10:58 PM on 07/21/2009

It seems every time I turn around some Muslim freaks keep shocking me with their backwards, medieval, inhumane ways... when the American KKKristian fundies aren't doing the same with their own brand of insanity.

[jrfunkenstein]

01:25 AM on 07/22/2009

No kidding; it's not like Christians ever stoned people or Pilgrims ever crushed people to death by putting massive rocks on their chests.

Oh....wait a minute....

[max]

10:57 PM on 07/21/2009

I didn't know Malaysia was a Cristian country..

[themeeg]

01:34 AM on 07/22/2009

It's not.

[Kamen Ng]

09:49 AM on 07/23/2009

It's a Krispy Creme country.

Not.

A guy can wish, can't he?

[Persson4]

10:35 PM on 07/21/2009

People who hide behind a religion in order to undermine women are evil. How the world can continue to allow violence against women in the name of God? Enough is enough.

[WonderingNThinking]

03:46 AM on 07/22/2009

I know, especially the Christian fundamentalists at one of my old jobs. They believe a wife's hair is her glory and must be kept long, the wife must bring the man their lunch at work daily (but aren't allowed to eat with them), and a bunch of other rules undermining of women.

[Chaimirija]

09:00 AM on 07/22/2009

It is more subtle, but many main stream Christians are like that. Their wives have to be submissive to them.

[guzmao12345]

11:00 AM on 07/22/2009

If you had red the article closely the punishment by caning is not specifically reserved for women but is a general punishment. As a matter of fact in most countries where there is corporal punishment, by they Islamic or otherwise, men are almost exclusively the main recipients.

Look there is systemic violence against women in too many countries but this case is not one of them. As a Muslim myself, I believe that these instances are dumb and Insha'Allah they don't typify the vast swath of humanity who are Muslims.