Posted by Chinenye on Thu 02nd Jul, 2026 - tori.ng
A shocking public punishment in Indonesia’s Aceh province has drawn global attention after a woman was reportedly caned for alleged indecent conduct during a livestream.
(she had received 27 lashes before she fainted. Photo Credit: Daily Mail)
A woman has become the first person to be publicly caned in Indonesia's Aceh province for allegedly committing obscenity live with a man on social media, under the province's strict Sharia law.
Images show her kneeling and crying out in pain as a masked Sharia police officer repeatedly brought a cane down across her back.
Her face contorted with each strike before the punishment became too much to bear and she lost consciousness.
It is unclear how many of the 27 lashes she had received before fainting.
She was seen collapsing to the ground while clutching her back, as a woman standing behind her rushed forward to catch her.
She then lay motionless on the floor as a medic examined her to determine whether she was fit enough for the punishment to continue.
Even if she requires medical treatment, she will not escape the sentence, as any remaining lashes will simply be postponed until she is deemed well enough to complete the caning.
Rows of police officers watched the punishment from their seats as it was carried out in public.
The woman's partner was also caned after being accused of taking part in the livestream, which reportedly showed the couple kissing on camera, while four other convicts also received lashes.
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law, under which same-sex relationships and sex outside marriage are criminal offences.
This is not the first time someone has collapsed during a public caning in the province.
In June, a woman fainted after she and her partner each received 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage under Aceh's Sharia law, and had to be carried away after collapsing during the punishment.
The couple were among several people publicly caned that day for offences including extramarital sex arranged through online apps.
Public caning is used to punish a wide range of offences under Aceh's Sharia code, including gambling, drinking alcohol, same-sex relationships and sexual relations outside marriage.
Child r@pe carries the harshest punishment under the province's Sharia laws, with offenders facing up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of up to 200 months, or a fine equivalent to two kilograms of gold.
The public nature of the punishments is intended to shame offenders as well as inflict pain. Canings are often staged outside mosques or in community squares, with crowds gathering to watch and photograph the event.
Human rights groups say the public humiliation adds to the cruelty and causes lasting psychological damage.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly condemned the practice, saying it violates Indonesia's constitution and its obligations under international law.
Amnesty has described caning as being in clear conflict with Indonesia's constitution and international human rights standards, characterising it as a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment that can amount to torture under the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants to which Indonesia is a signatory.
Local officials have defended the practice as a deterrent and as part of the province's identity, while critics argue it has damaged Indonesia's human rights reputation and inflicted lasting trauma on those forced to endure it.
In January, another woman collapsed after she and her partner were given a combined total of 140 lashes for drinking alcohol and having sex outside marriage, and had to be escorted to an ambulance following the public punishment.
Last year, two men were each given 76 lashes after being found guilty by a Sharia court of having sex.
Sharia law in Aceh was introduced in 2002, with further provisions added the following year. Among the measures introduced in 2003 was a ban on a person being alone with someone of the opposite sex who is neither a spouse nor a relative.
In 2018, the province began consulting the public on whether it should introduce beheading as a punishment, although Indonesia's central government warned such plans would not be permitted under national law.