By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : An NGO has sought a stay on the caning of a part-time Malaysian model convicted for drinking in public.
Sisters in Islam (SIS) Friday filed for a stay on the caning of 32-year-old Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who wants to go through the punishment in public to atone for her crime.
The case has embarrassed Malaysian authorities who call their country a moderate Muslim state.
SIS executive director Hamidah Marican said as an advocacy group working on women’s rights, it was acting in public interest to “resolve controversies and provide clarity on the issue”, The Star said Sunday.
Shukarno and a waitress were fined RM 5,000 ($1,400) each and ordered to face six rotan strokes.
Malaysia’s majority Muslim population is governed by both the civil law and the Islamic law. The latter forbids Muslims from drinking.
“SIS urges the authorities to refrain from executing the sentence on Kartika until all legal and other avenues have been exhausted,” she said.