Malaysian judge orders man to jail for drinking

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-15 14:08

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A judge has ordered a Muslim man to be caned and jailed for drinking alcohol, two months after triggering a national debate for sentencing a woman to be whipped for a similar offense.

Islamic High Court judge Abdul Rahman Yunos in eastern Pahang state ordered the Indonesian worker Monday to serve a year in jail and be whipped six times, a court official said Tuesday. She declined to be identified citing protocol.

She said Nazarudin Kamaruddin pleaded guilty earlier this month to drinking liquor at a restaurant on Aug. 27. Unable to post bail, he has been in prison since being charged on Sept. 2, she said. He faced a maximum of three years in jail for the offense.

Consumption of alcohol in Muslim-majority Malaysia is a punishable offense, but only three of 13 states impose whipping. The rest provide for jail and fines, but Muslims caught by religious authorities are usually let off with a warning or fine.

"The sentence meted out to him is not meant as punishment but to serve a lesson," Abdul Rahman was quoted by the New Straits Times daily as saying.

It reported that Abdul Rahman also scolded Nazarudin for drinking during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, which started Aug. 22.

In July, Abdul Rahman sentenced a Malaysian woman to six cane strokes and a fine for drinking beer in public, triggering public outrage. If the sentence is carried out, the married mother of two will be the first woman to be caned in Malaysia.

Observers have questioned the judge's verdict, saying the Quran does not call for punishment for drinking alcohol, even though the religion forbids it, and that it infringes on civil rights.

Many view the sentence as a blow to Malaysia's reputation as a moderate nation in the Muslim world. About 60 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Muslims.

Islamic laws do not apply to Malaysia's non-Muslims, who include ethnic Chinese and Indians.