BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei: Brunei has postponed its implementation of Islamic criminal punishments that were due to begin yesterday. No confirmed new date was given for the start of the syariah penalties – which will eventually include flogging, severing of limbs and death by stoning – but an official told Brunei media they would begin “in the very near future”.
Jauyah Zaini, assistant director of the oil-rich sultanate’s Islamic Legal Unit, was quoted by the Brunei Times as saying implementation had been delayed “due to unavoidable circumstances”. He did not elaborate or give a new date.
Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is visiting Singapore, and the government is believed to be waiting for the all-powerful Islamic monarch to return before introducing the sensitive legal code.
But the delay could feed perceptions of hesitation by the 67-year-old sultan – one of the world’s wealthiest men.
The new criminal code will phase in punishments, including execution by stoning for offences such as sodomy and adultery, severing of limbs for theft, and flogging for violations ranging from abortion to alcohol consumption.
Authorities have in recent weeks conducted a series of briefings for official agencies and non-government organisations to explain syariah.
Brunei currently has a dual-track legal system of civil courts along with syariah courts handling non-criminal issues like marital and inheritance cases.
Authorities said a syariah “declaration ceremony” would go ahead as planned April 30, but gave no other details. — AFP