Image from Borneo Bulletin/ANN
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): The rise in khalwat cases in Brunei is concerning as it involves individuals from the Muslim community.
This issue should be taken seriously, considering the potential escalation to more serious offences, such as adultery, leading to harsher penalties and possibly even the mandatory hadd punishment.
This was said by Acting Chief Registrar of the Syariah Court of Appeal Pengiran Mohammaddin Pengiran Aliakbar during the Syariah Courts’ annual assembly on Saturday while laying out the statistics recorded from 2023.
He said there were 870 cases recorded in the Syariah Subordinate Court under the Syariah Criminal Offences Code, 2013, where 432 cases of khalwat were under Section 196(1) involving Muslims and 25 cases under Section 196(2) involving non-Muslims with Muslims.
It marked a 36-per-cent increase compared to 2022, where there were 203 cases under Section 196(1) and a 43-per-cent increase in Section 196(2) cases which recorded 10 cases the previous year. In the past four years (2020-2023), 16 cases led to corporal punishment under the Syariah Criminal Offences Code.
In 2023, there were two cases of attempted adultery involving married individuals and 20 cases of attempted adultery involving unmarried individuals. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
