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| Malaysia woman's caning commuted | Malaysia woman's caning commuted |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A Malaysian woman sentenced to be caned for drinking beer has had her punishment commuted. | A Malaysian woman sentenced to be caned for drinking beer has had her punishment commuted. |
| Kartika Sari Dewa Shukarno had pleaded guilty to the offence under Malaysia's Islamic law and was to have received six strokes of a rattan cane. | Kartika Sari Dewa Shukarno had pleaded guilty to the offence under Malaysia's Islamic law and was to have received six strokes of a rattan cane. |
| But her family said religious officials had overturned the ruling, ordering her to carry out community service instead. | But her family said religious officials had overturned the ruling, ordering her to carry out community service instead. |
| Ms Kartika's original sentence, which had been delayed several times, had provoked fierce debate. | Ms Kartika's original sentence, which had been delayed several times, had provoked fierce debate. |
| While drinking alcohol is forbidden for Muslims, prosecutions are rare. | While drinking alcohol is forbidden for Muslims, prosecutions are rare. |
| Ms Kartika's family was informed by letter that the sultan of Pahang state, where Ms Kartika was arrested for drinking beer in a beachfront hotel in December 2007, had overturned the ruling. | |
| The religious leader has the power to rule on matters of Islamic law. | The religious leader has the power to rule on matters of Islamic law. |
| Kartika will go on with her life Shukarno Mutalib | Kartika will go on with her life Shukarno Mutalib |
| "The sultan has decided that the caning sentence will be substituted with a three-week community service at a children's home in Pahang from 2 April," Ms Kartika's father, Shukarno Mutalib, told the AFP news agency. | |
| "Kartika was expecting a caning, she is surprised by this development as she will be separated from her children for three weeks, but we respect the sultan's decision," he said. | |
| "We will abide by the order. Kartika will go on with her life," he told the Associated Press news agency. | |
| The commutation was welcomed by Malaysia's Bar Council, which had called caning "anachronistic and inconsistent with a compassionate society". | |
| "Our view is that no one should be caned. We are against any form of corporal punishment," council Ragunath Kesavan told the AFP news agency. | |
| The case had caused controversy in Malaysia, where Muslims are subject to Islamic law in personal matters, and attracted international criticism. | |
| Ms Kartika, a mother of two, had not appealed against her sentence and had asked that her punishment be carried out in public. | Ms Kartika, a mother of two, had not appealed against her sentence and had asked that her punishment be carried out in public. |
| When first convicted, she seemed set to become the first woman to be caned in Malaysia. | When first convicted, she seemed set to become the first woman to be caned in Malaysia. |
| But in February, three women were caned at a prison near the capital, Kuala Lumpur, for having extra-marital sex, leading to fears Ms Kartika's punishment would also go ahead. | But in February, three women were caned at a prison near the capital, Kuala Lumpur, for having extra-marital sex, leading to fears Ms Kartika's punishment would also go ahead. |