2 women face public flogging for online gambling in Aceh
Two women in Langsa city of Aceh were publicly whipped 23 times each after having been charged for violating the conservative region’s gambling law on Wednesday.
The Langsa Sharia Court previously found the defendants – identified as AN and SS – guilty of online gambling on Oct 10.
Online gambling is haram according to Aceh’s Qanun Jinayat (Criminal Code Bylaw).
Aji Asmanuddin, the head of the local Islamic law and education agency, said the punishments were meant to serve as a lesson for other residents so they would be deterred from partaking in any form of gambling.
“We expect today’s public floggings to be a lesson for everyone, so this region is free from sinful deeds in the future,” Aji said on Wednesday as quoted by tribunnews.com.
He warned that local authorities would crack down on online gambling and other activities considered haram under the bylaw.
Aceh is the only conservative region in Muslim-majority Indonesia that implements sharia. The provincial administration has fully enforced Qanun Jinayat since 2015, which allows flogging for a range of offenses, such as gambling, prostitution and adultery.
