Malaysia Arrests Unmarried Couples For Valentine’s Day
Continuing years of “morality” crackdowns on Valentine’s Day, five couples were arrested yesterday as part of an “Anti-Vice Campaign,” reports a Malaysian newspaper.
The couples were nabbed in budget hotels in the wee hours of Tuesday. The were accused of “khalwat,” or “close proximity” to a member of the opposite sex in private, a crime punishable by up to two years in jail or a fine of RM3,000 (about $990 US) in the Islamic nation.
The Malaysian government has been carrying out anti-Valentine’s Day campaigns since 2005. According to the Atlantic Wire, the holiday is believed to be “a ‘trap’ that is ‘synonymous with vice’ and leads to other immoral activities.” Last year, more than 80 young Muslims were arrested in the crackdown on Feb. 14.
How did you celebrate V-Day? Hopefully, whatever you did, it didn’t lead to any arrests.
[via The Atlantic Wire]
[Image: Reuters]
