Model’s caning for drinking beer postponed

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.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old model and mother of two, was en route to a prison for the caning when Islamic officials who took her into custody drove her back home and released her.

Mohamad Sahfri Abdul Aziz, a state legislator in charge of religious affairs, later said the attorney general’s office advised that the caning should be delayed for compassionate reasons until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began Saturday.