
Two Indonesian Christians were publicly flogged in Banda Aceh province on Tuesday for playing a children's entertainment game.

The game is seen by authorities in the conservative Muslim province as 'gambling' and therefore it violates Islamic Sharia law.

Some 300 people jeered and held up their mobile phones to record when Dahlan Silitonga, 61, and Tjia Nyuk Hwa, 45, were flogged six and seven times respectively.

Punished: Christian Indonesians Tjia Nyuk Hwa, 45, and Dahlan Silitonga, 61, prepare to be lashed for 'gambling' after being arrested for playing a children's game

Pain as entertainment: Some 300 people had gathered to watch as Tjia Nyuk Hwa was publicly flogged outside a mosque in Banda Aceh

The pair had been arrested along with a third man for playing a game at a children's entertainment complex that lets users exchange coins for prizes or vouchers, including cash.

They were among five people - including a couple whipped two dozen times each for showing affection in public - receiving between six and 24 lashes with a rattan stick.

Banda Aceh is the only province Indonesia that imposes sharia law and people can be flogged for a range of offences; from gambling, to drinking alcohol to having gay sex or relations outside of marriage.

Hundreds of spectators, including some two dozen tourists from neighbouring Malaysia, jeered as they group were whipped on a makeshift stage outside a mosque.

'You are old, show remorse,' the crowd screamed.

Jeers: The crowd shouted and pulled faces as the 45-year-old Christian was beaten with a stick as punishment

Rules: Non-Muslims like Tjia Nyuk Hwa who have committed an offence that violates the laws can choose to be prosecuted under either a national or a religious system

Rock and a hard place: Christians and other non-Muslims sometimes choose prosecution under sharia law and take a flogging to avoid a lengthy court process and potential jail term

Sharia: Christian Indonesians Dahlan Silitonga and Tjia Nyuk Hwa, pictured, were among five people punished for adultery and gambling, receiving between six and two dozen lashes

Shocking: Spectators are pulling amused faces, while others seem visibly uncomfortable as Tjia Nyuk Hwa is lashed

Shame: The 45-year-old is seen covering her face as the executor carried out the punishment

Aceh is the only province in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country that imposes sharia law and people can be flogged for a range of offences

Non-Muslim Tjia Nyuk Hwa tried to hide her face in a specially provided white cloak with head-covering hijab.

'This is to create a deterrent effect, in order for people not to repeat violations of Islamic sharia law,' Banda Aceh's mayor Aminullah Usman said.

'We purposely do it in front of the public... so it won't happen again.'

The two Christians are among just a handful of non-Muslims to be punished under Aceh's strict religious law since it was adopted in 2001 as part of a deal with the central government to end a long-running insurgency.

A sharia law executor, called an 'algojo', arrives to administer punishment on a stage at a mosque

An Acehnese man is escoted to a stage by sharia police before being whipped with a cane in front of a public audience for violating sharia law in Banda Aceh, Indonesia

In January, an Indonesian Christian was flogged for selling alcohol in the province at the tip of Sumatra island, which made headlines recently after local police publicly humiliated a group of transgender women.

About 98 per cent of Aceh's five million residents are Muslims subject to religious law.

Non-Muslims who have committed an offence that violates both national and religious laws can choose to be prosecuted under either system.

Christians and other non-Muslims sometimes choose a flogging to avoid a lengthy court process and jail term.