Source Court Upholds Khalwat Offender S Sentence Caning On Dec 27

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The Terengganu Syariah Court of Appeal has upheld the six strokes of rotan for a repeat khalwat offender after its execution was temporarily suspended pending an appeal.
According to sources, the recent development happened during a case review hearing last Wednesday.
The caning is now set on Dec 27, at Masjid Al Muktafi BIllah Shah in Ladang, Kuala Terengganu.
“The punishment will take place after Friday prayers with the attendance of 70 selected witnesses,” a source told Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity.
On Nov 20, Terengganu Syariah High Court judge Kamalruazmi Ismail meted out the sentence on Mohd Affendi Awang, 42, who pleaded guilty to committing khalwat for the third time.
The widower became the first offender to be publicly whipped for a syariah criminal offence in Terengganu.
He was charged under Section 31 (a) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) (Terengganu) Amendment Enactment 2022 for khalwat.
Affendi was also fined RM4,000, with a six-month prison sentence imposed if the fine is not paid.
The home builder and father of five had previously been fined RM2,700 or sentenced to three months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to a khalwat charge on July 11, 2023, at the Kemaman lower Syariah Court.
He was once again charged with the same offence on Jan 25, before the Terengganu Syariah High Court sentenced him on Feb 19 to four strokes of the cane, a fine of RM3,000, or six months imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine.
The court had ordered the six-stroke punishment to be carried out after Friday prayers on Dec 6, but two days earlier, the state government announced that the punishment would be temporarily suspended.
State exco to address issue
According to a notice dated Dec 11 sighted by Malaysiakini, the order for the punishment was signed by the Chief Registrar of the Terengganu Syariah Judiciary Department, Noor Afzan Adam.
Meanwhile, another source close to the Terengganu government informed that the state executive councillor for Information, Dakwah, and Empowerment of Syariah, Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi, is expected to hold a press conference on the matter in the coming days.
Terengganu state executive councillor for Information, Dakwah, and Empowerment of Syariah, Muhammad Khalil Abdul HadiPreviously, Sisters In Islam described the whipping punishment as "barbaric" and questioned the direction the country was heading.
“What has become of our nation? How did we descend to a point where cruelty is glorified under the guise of ‘morality’?
“Have we grown so desperate to enforce this notion that we abandon the very foundations of human decency and respect? This is a grave injustice that demands our unwavering condemnation,” it said. - Mkini

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