A new criminal law that could include penalties like amputation for theft and stoning for adultery will be enforced for Muslims in Brunei in six months, its ruling sultan announced. Brunei’s Shariah Islamic court had previously handled mainly family-related disputes. The sultan has been hoping to implement the new law for years to bolster the influence of Islam in the tiny, oil-rich monarchy on Southeast Asia’s Borneo island. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said the Shariah Penal Code should be regarded as a form of “special guidance” from God and would be “part of the great history” of Brunei. —AP
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