The Southeast Asian nation of Brunei has announced that from next week, homosexuals and adultery will be stoned to death and those who commit theft will be removed.
Under the new penalty, the right hand of the first steals will be cut and the left foot is cut off, according to Singapore's Homosexuality, already considered illegal in Brunei, will be a capital crime in the future, but the law applies only to Muslims. Brunei announced as early as 2013 that it would introduce Islamic criminal law, but officials delayed enforcement of the Islamic criminal law in an effort to develop details and opposition from rights groups. Xinhua News Agency reported in 2014 that the Hassanal government of Brunei Sultan announced the formal phased introduction of Islamic criminal law in the country from May 2014. Agence France-Presse reported that on December 29 last year, the Attorney General's Office of Brunei issued a notice that the regulations would enter into force on April 3, 2019. According to the Xinhua News Agency in 2014, Muslims involved in adultery, theft, drinking and abortion are subject to severe punishments such as stoning, beheadings and flogging, according to Islamic criminal law. But these sentences will not be used against non-Muslims. The Xinhua news agency also said one of the aims of the code was to preserve Islam's dominance in Brunei, deter crime and resist the adverse effects of the outside world. Brunei officials say many people see only the death penalty for Islamic criminal law, which western media have accused of being cruel and inhuman. The report said that in response to Western accusations of Islamic criminal law, Brunei's government has made it clear that, to some extent, the deterrent effect of the criminal law through the death penalty will preserve the safety of more people's lives. Brunei High Priest Abdulaziz, in addition to expressing positive and optimistic implementation of the criminal law, also believes that it will promote Brunei tourism prosperity. According to the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Brunei officially declared the "Malay Islamic monarchy" (MIB) as the national program since its independence on January 1, 1984. Its connotation is that the state maintains Malay language, culture and customs, promotes Islamic law and values throughout the country, and the royal family is supreme. The program recognizes Islam as a Brunei religion and opposes secularism. Brunei's judicial system is based on British customary law. General criminal cases are heard in the Advocate's Court or Intermediate Court, the more serious cases are heard by the High Court, and civil cases may eventually be appealed to the Privy Council of England. In addition, there is an Islamic court to deal with cases of violation of Islamic doctrine.