A REPEAT syariah offender in Terengganu became the first person to undergo public caning at the Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Mosque hall in Kuala Terengganu, yesterday.
Mohd Affendi Awang, 42, a father of five, who arrived at the mosque at 2.28pm, escorted by prison officers and police, was caned six times for khalwat (close proximity).
The carpenter is the first person to be caned for repeated khalwat offences under Terengganu’s amended Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) Enactment 2022, which came into effect on Jan 1.
He was sentenced to six lashes on Nov 20 by Terengganu Syariah High Court Judge Kamalruazmi Ismail.
The sentence was carried out by officers of the Malaysian Prisons Department and witnessed by around 90 people including lawmakers and selected media who were allowed into the hall.
He first underwent a health examination for 20 minutes and was brought out at 2.48 pm where a medical officer declared him fit to proceed with the punishment.
He was then brought before three observers – a medical officer, a prison officer and syariah court officer.
After the confirmation of the name and identification number, the punishment was carried out at exactly 2.50pm.
The interval between each stroke was three to five seconds and after receiving the six strokes, Mohd Affendi, who was silent throughout the caning, was escorted back into the examination room before being taken back to Marang Prison.
Mohd Affendi was punished under Section 31 (a) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) (Terengganu) Enactment Amendment 2022.
He was also fined RM4,000 and sentenced to six months in prison after failing to pay the fine.
He had pleaded guilty to being with a woman in her 30s who is not his wife or “mahram” on Jan 25 on the third floor of a building undergoing renovation in the Kemaman district.
The whipping sentence was imposed on Mohd Affendi as it is his second offence.
He was fined in July last year for a similar offence. - December 28, 2024
