Five men in Malaysia were sentenced to jail time, caning, and fines for attempting to have gay sex, which is illegal in the Muslim-majority country.
The Selangor Shariah High Court, just outside of the capital city of Kuala Lampur, convicted the men Thursday on charges of “attempting intercourse against the order of nature.” Four of the men were sentenced to six months in jail while one received seven months. All five were ordered to receive six lashes of the cane and pay fines equivalent to over $1,000.
The men were apprehended along with others during a raid to catch law-breaking homosexuals by Islamic enforcement officers in November 2018. Judge Mohamad Asri Mohamad Tahir condemned the acts in his Thursday ruling. “The facts show that there was an attempt to carry out intercourse outside of the order of nature and that it was not in the early stages of preparation,” he said.
Five other men arrested for attempting gay sex will be sentenced later this month, according to Numan Afifi, who attended the sentencing and is president of the sexuality rights group Pelangi. Afifi called the sentence “outrageous,” and noted the growing fear among gay people Malaysia that they will be strictly punished.
Two women were caned in 2018 for attempting to have lesbian sex in Terengganu, an east coast state of Malaysia.
