KUALA TERENGGANU, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- A construction worker will become the first person in Terengganu to be whipped in public after being found guilty of committing ‘khalwat’ for the third time, under Section 31(a) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) (Terengganu) Enactment Amendment 2022.
Terengganu Syariah High Court senior judge Kamalruazmi Ismail sentenced him to six strokes of the rotan and a fine of RM4,000 after Mohd Affendi Awang, 42, pleaded guilty to the charges read out against him.
Kamalruazmi also ordered Mohd Affendi to be sentenced to six months' jail if he fails to pay the fine.
The court ordered the whipping of the widower, who has five children, to be carried out at the Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Mosque here on Dec 6 after Friday prayers, after a period of 14 days, if he does not file an appeal.
Earlier, Mohd Affendi pleaded guilty to being with a 52-year-old woman who was not his wife or ‘mahram’ at around 1.40am on June 16 in a house in Kerteh near Kemaman.
The public whipping sentence was imposed on Mohd Affendi as it was his third offence after being convicted of the same offence in July last year and February this year.
In his judgment, Kamalruazmi said based on syariah and religion, the aim in imposing any punishment is to serve as a lesson, education and prevention so that the same offence is not repeated, as well as as a reminder to the public.
"A believer does not fall into the same hole twice. You (Mohd Affendi) have been whipped and jailed, but do it again. The first-time punishment should have given you a reason to repent," he said.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Chief Syarie Prosecutor Nik Mohd Shahril Irwan Mat Yusof while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.
On Feb 19, Mohd Affendi was sentenced to four strokes of the cane and fined RM3,000 after pleading guilty to committing khalwat for the second time. He was the first person in Terengganu to be whipped for committing the offence of khalwat.
-- BERNAMA
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