Shariah court in Indonesia sentences 2 men to up to 85 lashes
Banda Aceh: An Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning for having gay sex. The couple, aged 24 and 18, were arrested on November 7, after neighbourhood vigilantes in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, suspected them of being gay and broke into their rented room to catch them naked and hugging each other. The lead judge said that the two college students were “legally and convincingly” proven to have had gay sex and would receive 85 and 80 strokes, respectively. “During the trial it was proven that the defendants committed illicit acts, including kissing and having sex.“ said the judge, Sakwanah, who goes by a single name like many Indonesians. ”As Muslims, the defendants should uphold the Shariah law that prevails in Aceh,” she added.
Four involved in telecom fraud cases sentenced to life in China
Beijing: A Chinese court on Monday sentenced four “key figures” involved in cross-border telecom fraud cases to life imprisonment as China stepped up a crackdown against the gangs luring local and foreigners to work in scam centres in Myanmar. The four accused left China to form telecom fraud organisations with one of them, surnamed Yu, organising several people to go abroad to commit crimes, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) said.