An Indonesian man was sentenced to be caned for consuming alcohol by the same the judge who drew flak for handing a similar sentence to a woman.

The New Straits Times said that Nazarudin Kamaruddin, 46,

had become the first person to be caned for consuming alcohol

in Pahang.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno Judge Abdul Rahman Mohd Yunos was criticised by rights groups when he sentenced Kartika Sari Dewi Sukarno ( right ), a 32-year-old mother of two, to six lashes of the cane for consuming beer.

"The sentence meted out to him (Nazarudin) is not meant as punishment but to serve as a lesson," said Rahman, according to the paper.

Nazarudin, a permanent resident of Malaysia, said he had bought a bottle of "samsu", a cheap local liquor, to share with friends at a restaurant when religious authorities swooped in a raid.

"I've been in this country for so many years and have been very careful not to get onto the wrong side of the law," he told the paper.

Kartika's case is being reviewed by an Islamic appeals court judge and her caning could be carried out once the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is over.

Pahang is the home state of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak who has pledged to modernise the economy of this country of 27 million people and to win new foreign investment.

- Reuters/AFP