A couple in Indonesia's Aceh province has been caned 140 times each for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, in what is believed to be one of the harshest punishments since the region adopted sharia law.
The man and woman were struck on their backs with a rattan stick in a public park in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, as dozens of people watched. The woman fainted after enduring the punishment and was taken to an ambulance.
Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh's Sharia police, said the couple received 100 lashes for sex outside marriage and 40 for consuming alcohol. The pair were among six people flogged for breaking the Islamic code, including a sharia police officer and his female partner, who were caught in close proximity in a private place and received 23 strikes each.
“As promised, we make no exceptions, especially not for our own members. This certainly tarnishes our name,” Rizal said.
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, to impose sharia law. Caning is used to punish a range of offences, including gambling, drinking alcohol, gay sex and sexual relations outside marriage. In 2025, two men were publicly flogged 76 times each for sexual relations.
