Brunei Announces Tough New Code of Islamic Law

The sultanate of Brunei has announced it will enforce a tough new Sharia law penal code.

The code - to apply only to Muslims - is expected to introduce -

• death by stoning for adulterers and
• the severing of limbs for theft

Punishments could also include flogging for such crimes as -

• consumption of alcohol or
•  abortion

Brunei already adheres to a stronger form of Islamic law than neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia, banning the sale and consumption of alcohol.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah(67) who introduced the code, calling it "a part of the great history of our nation".
The sultan had already made religious education compulsory for Muslim children and ordered businesses to close during Friday prayers

Brunei's Sharia courts were limited to family matters like marriage and inheritance.
Its civil courts are based on British law, a leftover from the sultanate's days as a British protectorate.