Affendi Awang, 42, who pleaded guilty, was ordered to be given six strokes of the rotan by Terengganu shariah High Court judge Kamalruazmi Ismail, Kosmo reported.

The father of five will undergo his sentence at Masjid Al Muktafi Billah Shah in Kuala Terengganu after Friday prayers on Dec 6.

He was accused of committing khalwat with a 52-year-old woman at a house in Pengkalan Ranggon, Kemaman, at 1.40am on June 16.

Affendi, who was convicted of khalwat on two previous occasions, was also slapped with a RM4,000 fine, or six months in prison, if he failed to pay the amount.

In meting out the sentence, Kamalruazmi said the main purpose of the punishment was to serve as a lesson and deterrent for the convict and other Muslims.

He added that Affendi should have learned his lesson the two previous times he was convicted of khalwat.

In July 2023, he was fined RM2,700 after pleading guilty to khalwat at the Kemaman shariah lower court.

In February this year, he was convicted of the same offence by the shariah High Court and was sentenced to four strokes of the rotan, and a RM3,000 fine.

Under the state’s shariah criminal offences enactment, effective this year, the repeat offence of khalwat is punishable by up to six strokes of the rotan, a maximum RM5,000 fine, or three years in prison.