Kuala Lumpur, August 26: A Malaysian Muslim woman who faces six strokes of the cane for drinking beer at a nightclub has refused to appeal against her sentencing, saying she was “ashamed” and deserved to be punished, a news report said Wednesday.
An Islamic sharia court in Pahang state last month sentenced Kartika Sari Sewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old part-time model, to be caned six times and pay a 5,000-ringgit (1,350-dollar) fine after she admitted to consuming alcohol in 2007.
On Monday, state religious authorities announced the caning would be delayed till after the holy fasting month of Ramadan for the mother of two.
The case has garnered local and international attention, with politicians including Prime Minister Najib Razak urging the woman to appeal her sentence.
“Kartika should appeal instead of being too quick in seeking punishment. There is still an avenue for her to appeal,” Najib had told reporters late Tuesday.
However, Kartika said she would abide by any decision of the courts and religious department.
“I feel ashamed of myself for showing disrespect to my own religion. I want to respect (the religious department’s) decision and go through the punishment,” she was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying.
“I respect the law and Islam. Even before the sentence was passed in court, I had already made up my mind to accept the punishment and go through the ordeal,” she said.
Kartika’s sentencing has been criticized as excessively harsh, with critics saying the ruling could tarnish the country’s image as a moderate Muslim state.
The Bar Council also voiced its objections to the caning, and called for the sentencing to be reversed.
“Our position echoes international human rights norms that condemn whipping and other forms of corporal punishment as cruel, inhuman or degrading and call for its abolition,” the council president Ragunath Kesavan said in a statement.
Officials have not announced a date for carrying out the sentence.
Under Pahang state’s sharia Islamic law, those found guilty of consuming alcohol face a fine of up to 5,000 ringgit, three years in jail and six strokes of the cane.
Religious authorities said the whipping will be conducted in a humane manner, employing a smaller cane than those used on men, and Kartika will be fully dressed.
–Agencies