Man caned for selling booze
ACEH: An Indonesian Christian was publicly caned on Friday for selling alcohol here, a violation of Islamic law, as a crowd of onlookers, including children, jeered.
Jono Simbolon grimaced in pain when a masked religious officer lashed his back with a rotan on a makeshift stage outside a mosque here.
He was arrested in October and sentenced to 36 strokes of the rotan for selling illegal alcohol.
He is the third non-Muslim to get a public caning since Aceh began implementing Islamic law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001 — an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
“This is our government’s commitment to enforcing Islamic law. If there is a violation (of the law), report it to the syariah police, and we will carry out a punishment, like today’s caning,” mayor Aminullah Usman said, referring to religious authorities.
A doctor checked on Jono’s condition after 10 strokes before the flogging continued.
He was one of 10 people — eight men and two women — caned after Friday prayers for offences, including pimping, prostitution and gambling.
One unmarried couple received 20 strokes each for being too physically close to each other, seen as a prelude to banned premarital sex. AFP