I'll take my caning, says model who drank beer

A Muslim model who will be caned next week for drinking beer today said she has asked for her punishment to be in public, in a case described as "degrading" by human rights campaigners.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, will be the first Malaysian woman to be caned under Islamic laws applicable to the country's Muslims, who make up 60 per cent of the population.

She said she respected the law banning alcohol for Muslims and was determined to have the punishment - six strokes of a rattan cane. It is usually carried out in prison, but the mother-of-two, who also paid a 5,000 ringgit (£850) fine, said: "I want to send a message that I really regret what I did, so I want to be punished in front of other people. If other Muslims can see me being caned, I hope it will convince them not to drink."

Kartika, from the state of Perak, 180 miles north of Kuala Lumpur, said prison officials turned down her request yesterday, saying she will be lashed without any public witnesses.

Amnesty International today criticised the punishment as "degrading" and said the caning comes when the role of Islam in Malaysia is assuming greater importance. A main opposition party wants Malaysia, which has non-Muslim Chinese and Indian minorities, to become an Islamic state with sharia laws on punishment.

Despite the prohibition, Muslims can be found drinking alcohol in bars and clubs in cities such as Kuala Lumpur where attitudes are more relaxed. Kartika was caught drinking at a hotel in Kuantan, the state capital of Pahang in 2007. She said she had three glasses of beer - her second time drinking alcohol. Four court appearances forced her to quit her hospital job and she has since relied on being a part-time model. Kartika said she has explained the case to her children Muhammad, seven, and Kaitlynn, five. "They both don't really understand, but my daughter told me, 'Mama, you must be strong.' Now I feel brave but sad this is not only a punishment for me but for my family."