Terengganu – One of the offenders, Khairul Azle Abdul Rasid, 35, received the heaviest RM2,500 fine as he is a father of two and should have been a role model for his children

Six Malaysian Muslims have reportedly been handed one-month jail terms and fined for skipping Friday prayers in a sharia court in the conservative northeastern state of Terengganu in Malaysia.

The men aged 17 to 35 had been caught by officers from the Terengganu Islamic Religious Affairs Department having a picnic at Sekayu Waterfall between 1:00pm and 1:50pm on Aug 23.

It was reported that female officers first entered the waterfall area for surveillance, when they happened to find the six men, among others, having a picnic there. Once Friday prayers ended, male officers went in to make the arrests.

Citing the charge sheet, Harian Metro reported that one of the offenders, Khairul Azle Abdul Rasid, 35, received the heaviest RM2,500 (US$600) fine as he is a father of two and should have been a role model for his children. The rest were fined RM2,400 (US$575).

They are currently free on bail while they appeal the sentences. They could had been jailed for a maximum of two years under Muslim-majority Malaysia’s sharia laws.

Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with sharia courts handling some cases for Muslim citizens.

Attending Friday prayers is obligatory for Muslim men in Malaysia under the sharia law but it is rare for such harsh punishments to be meted out for missing them.

The case has sparked fresh concern about rising religious conservatism in the multi-ethnic country. It came weeks after four men were caned for having gay sex in violation of sharia laws.