Malaysia’s prime minister urged a woman scheduled to be caned for drinking beer to appeal against the sentence.

MALAYSIA abruptly granted a Ramadan reprieve to the first Muslim Malay woman to be sentenced to caning for drinking beer, but insisted yesterday the thrashing would still take place after the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Human rights group Amnesty International today denounced plans by Malaysian authorities to cane a Muslim model for drinking beer.

A model sentenced to six lashes of the cane for drinking beer will become the first Malaysian woman to suffer the punishment under Islamic law.