A woman has fainted after being caned 140 times in Indonesia's Aceh province, in what is believed to be one of the harshest punishments since the region adopted sharia law. The woman and a man were each given 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage and 40 for consuming alcohol.
The punishment was carried out in a public park in Banda Aceh, with dozens of onlookers present. An AFP reporter at the scene said the woman collapsed during the flogging and was taken away by ambulance.
Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh's Sharia police, confirmed the sentences. 'As promised, we make no exceptions, especially not for our own members,' he said, referring to a sharia police officer who was among six people flogged for breaking the Islamic code.
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, to enforce sharia law. Caning is used for offences including gambling, alcohol consumption, gay sex, and sex outside marriage.
