Aceh gamblers on caning deterrent
Aceh gamblers on caning deterrent
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post/Bireuen
The Bireuen regental administration on Friday had 15 men convicted of gambling publicly caned in the first implementation of corporal punishment in Aceh since the province adopted Islamic law in 2003.
The public canings were administered in front of the Bireuen Grand Mosque and witnessed by some 3,000 rowdy spectators. The function also drew wide media attention, both domestic and foreign. A private news television station in Jakarta even broadcast it live.
The canings began after Friday prayers at 2 p.m. Officials and clerics, including chief of the Aceh sharia court Alyasa Abu Bakar, spoke in defense of public canings, saying that the punishment would cure people of gambling.
Then, under the beating sun, the convicted petty gamblers were brought to a specially-erected stage before the mosque and then caned one by one. The caning was administered by an official dressed in a green robe and hood, who administered between six and 10 strokes of a rattan cane to the back of each convict.
Syafrizal, a convicted gambler, shouted out Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great) before being caned.
At times, spectators cheered and howled as the one meter rattan stick struck the convicts' bodies, however the strokes were carefully measured not to break the skin.
After the proceedings were over, Aceh acting governor Azwar Abu Bakar greeted the convicts warmly and hugged them tight.
There were no reports of any serious injury as a result of the canings, leaving the 30 medical staff and five ambulances with nothing to do.
It was initially expected that 26 convicted gamblers would be caned, however after medical check-ups only 15 men were deemed fit, including one man in his 60s. The administration will cane the rest of the men when they are fit enough to face the punishment.
The canings were administered after a law on corporal punishment was passed in Bireuen regency in March. Other regencies have not adopted this punishment in this devoutly Muslim province.
The sharia system was implemented in Aceh in 2003, two years after the central government granted special autonomy to the province in order to curb separatist demands. Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels have been fighting for independence from Indonesia since 1976.
Before the canings took place, Aceh regional governments had already enforced Muslim dress codes, mandatory prayers five times a day and the giving of alms.
Commenting on the punishment, the men expressed resentment over the caning. "This is unfair. The caning should have targeted the big shots as well," said Ridwan, a convicted gambler, before the caning took place. "For me, it is embarrassing," said Zakaria, another gambler.
The two were Bireuen residents convicted for participating in a small gambling party in a garden near their homes.
The canings have brought controversy in Jakarta. A human rights group, Elsam, regretted the caning, saying it was humiliating as it was done in public.
Other countries like Singapore and Malaysia also use caning as a punishment, but they do not carry out the punishments in public.