AMID CONCERNS OF RISING EXTREMISM, PAS-LED T'GANU CANES ITS FIRST 'KHALWAT' OFFENDER - BUT WERE THEY EVEN HAVING SEX? - SHARIAH COURT ORDERS 4 STROKES OF CANE & RM3,000 FINE IN LIEU OF 6 MONTHS JAIL
A construction worker became the first khalwat (close proximity) offender in Terengganu to be sentenced to caning by the Syariah High Court here.
Syariah Judge Hamidi Shafie meted out the sentence on Mohd Affendi Awang, 42, who pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 31 (a) of the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (Takzir) (Terengganu) Amendment 2022, which came into force on Jan 1.
Judge Hamidi ordered Mohd Affendi to be caned four times and fined RM3,000, in default six months in jail, for the offence, with the whipping sentence to be carried out within 14 days from yesterday if there is no appeal.
Mohd Affendi pleaded guilty to being with a woman in her 30s who was not his wife or “mahram” between 1.10am and 2.15am 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 was his second offence. He was fined in July last year for a similar offence.
Based on the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (Takzir) (Terengganu) Amendment 2022, a person convicted of khalwat for the second and subsequent times can be punished with up to six lashes, a fine of up to RM5,000, or three years in prison.
In his judgment, Hamidi said the punishment was also intended to serve as a lesson for Mohd Affendi and society.
“That’s why the whipping sentence meted out in the Syariah Court and civil courts is different.
“On the surface, it looks like punishment in a civil court, while in the Syariah Court, the caning is lighter to serve as a lesson.
“It is hoped that it can also be a lesson to Mohd Affendi not to repeat it since this is his second offence,” he said.
Muhamad Khasmizan Abdullah was the prosecutor, while Mohd Affendi was unrepresented. — Bernama
Zaid: Clearer definition of khalwat needed, suspicious minds always see things differently
Former Law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said the special committee looking into issues concerning the enactment of Syariah laws in the states must address shortcomings in the definition of khalwat offences (close proximity).
He said this was needed in the wake of a construction worker who became the first khalwat offender in Terengganu to be sentenced to caning by the Syariah High Court in the state yesterday.
Zaid said there must be a more precise definition of what ingredients need to be established before one can be convicted of the offence.
Based on current definition, he said a totally innocent encounter by two individuals of the different sex can lead to them being prosecuted for the offence of khalwat.
"He did a fantastic job in getting the civil court system functioning well when he was the Chief Justice. He can do the same for the Syariah," he said, adding Zaki should also recommend that a defence counsel must be present to represent those facing criminal cases under the Syariah Enactments.
He said the government must provide one for those who cannot afford a defence counsel as Syariah offences invariably attract harsh punishments.
"A defence lawyer can make all the difference," he said, while citing the case of a young contractor who was ordered to be caned by the Terengganu Syariah High Court yesterday.
Zaid said the accused would have received a better deal if he had the services of a defence counsel and pointed out that an Islamic government must be a compassionate one.
"They should not just clamour for harsh punishments but a system of justice that is fair....give an accused person a lawyer.
"After all, khalwat offenders generally involve construction workers and poorer segments of the community. They typically plead guilty without proper advice.
"VVIPs or top politicians are seldom hauled up. Their encounters are in 6-star hotels....places that are relatively safe from prying eyes with suspicious minds," he said.
It was reported that Syarie Judge Hamidi Shafie ordered Mohd Affendi Awang to be caned four times and fined him RM3,000, in default six months jail, after the 42-year old pleaded guilty to committing khalwat.
Mohd Affendi became the first person to face whipping for committing khalwat under Section 31 (a) of the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (Takzir) (Terengganu) Amendment 2022 which came into force last Jan 1.
Zaid said under the law if one was with the opposite sex in a car in an isolated place in Kelantan or Terengganu, then the ingredients of the khalwat offence are fulfilled.
"It does not matter that you were not caught having sex. Being together is enough to get you in trouble.
"If the special moral police suspect that you are about to commit an immoral act, then you will also be arrested.
"If you are dating a girl or counselling a friend in distress and need a quiet place to chat with her, that's khalwat.
"Suspicious minds always see things differently. If you are gay, then it's alright. It's not an offence. Only heterosexuals are targeted," he said, adding the so-called religious states have harsh sentences for moral offences even as Saudi Arabia had already done away with flogging.
"However...like they say, we are more Islamic than the Saudis or the Indonesians.
"They also claimed that we need harsh punishments to prevent illicit sex and cases of abandoned babies.
"However, cases of infanticide abandoned babies, and teenage pregnancies are more prevalent among the poorer Malay communities despite the harsh sentence," he said. - NST
Written by Bernama / NST
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