Under the region’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, a couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province were publicly caπed 140 times each on Thursday for having intercourse outside of marriage and drinking alcohol. This is one of the harshest punishments ever recorded.

The only Indonesian province that upholds a form of sharia law that forbids unmarried couples from having intercourse is Aceh.

Numerous locals witnessed the man and woman being struck on the backs with rattan sticks in a public park in Banda Aceh.

After taking the blows, the woman passed out, according to AFP reporters on the scene, and had to be taken to an ambulance.

According to Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh’s Sharia police, the couple received 100 lashes for having intercourse outside marriage and an additional 40 for consuming alcohol.

“It is our duty to enforce the law equally. No one is exempt, not even our own officers,” Rizal told reporters.

He added that the couple’s punishment is believed to be one of the highest numbers of lashes imposed since Aceh was granted special autonomy in 2001, which allowed it to implement Sharia regulations.

The couple was among six people publicly flogged on Thursday for breaching Islamic codes.

Among them were a sharia police officer and his female partner, who were caught in close proximity in a private setting. That pair received 23 lashes each.

Caning remains widely supported in Aceh as a punishment for offences such as gambling, drinking alcohol, same-s£× relations, and s£×ual activity outside marriage.

Last year, two men were publicly flogged 76 times each after being convicted of sexual relations by the sharia court.

While the practice draws international criticism for its severity and public nature, local authorities insist it is a deterrent against moral and religious violations in the deeply conservative province.