Jakarta: A Indonesian gay couple were flogged in conservative Aceh province on Thursday in a public spectacle for having gay sex, which is outlawed in Aceh province under local Islamic law.

According to the report, the two men were whipped nearly 80 times each for having gay sex. The couple pleaded for the whipping to stop, as a masked sharia officer beat their backs with a rattan stick. The punishment was briefly halted and the men, both in their twenties, were allowed a drink of water before it continued.

Heru Triwijanarko told AFP, "Islamic sharia enforcement is final, no matter who it is, and even visitors must respect local norms."The men were arrested in November at a rental home where a landlord found them half-naked in their room.

Gay sex is not illegal elsewhere in Indonesia and Aceh is the only region in the world's biggest Muslim nation that imposes the Sharia law. Fogging in public is a common punishment for a range of offences that include gambling, drinking alcohol and adultery. Four others were whipped between 17 and 40 times on the same day over allegations they drank alcohol or met with members of the opposite sex.

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