Wanita MCA national chairperson Heng Seai Kie has questioned if rape victims will also be whipped in the open under PAS-led Kelantan government's proposal for public caning against Muslims committing zina.

This is because, she said, in countries which practises flogging where pre-marital sex has occurred "to the letter of the word", rape victims are also sentenced to public lashings.

"(Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar) Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah claims that unlike the present Criminal Procedure Code, syariah laws are meant to be educative and preventive rather than offensive.

"However, such degrading public punitive actions will only invite further sexual assault and gang violence as the onus and burden of responsibility are placed on the victim, rather than the perpetrator," Heng said in a statement today.

She also said she was left speechless by Amar's justification that public caning is not as harsh as it seems, adding that the Kelantan PAS government's proposal of public flogging for zina and alcohol consumption will regress the state further.

"As it is, such carnival-like atmosphere where public canings are organised sees the audience stooping to abysmal depths to video record and photograph the punishment whilst cheering away in revelry," Heng ( photo ) pointed out.

The sheer humiliation and stigmatisation which will stick to someone who had been pronounced guilty of pre-marital intercourse or adultery by the Syariah court is already too humiliating, she said.

This is especially true for women, who would be subjected to all forms of harassment or sniggers in public, after their punishment.

"Adultery is a personal conflict between a married couple and their immediate family which should be resolved in civil courts or among themselves," she said.

Heng had previously criticised the public flogging proposal, saying that this form of punishment infringes on human rights and contradicts the federal constitution and existing laws.

PAS Ulama chief Hassan Mahmood, who is also Tawang state assemblyperson, had proposed public flogging for zina offenders at mosques after Friday prayers.

The Kelantan government had welcomed the proposal, stating that it will study the matter.