Sharia police have caned a couple 140 times each in Indonesia’s Aceh province for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, likely one of the severest such punishments since the deeply conservative region adopted Islamic law. Sexual relations between an unmarried couple are strictly outlawed in Aceh, the only place in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, to impose sharia law. In total, the pair received 140 lashes: 100 for sex outside marriage and 40 for consuming alcohol, the head of Banda Aceh’s Sharia police, Muhammad Rizal, told AFP. Caning is implemented in Aceh to punish a range of offences, including gambling, drinking alcohol, having gay sex and having sexual relations outside marriage. In 2025, two men were publicly flogged 76 times each after they were found guilty of sexual relations by the sharia court.