A Malaysian woman who had been sentenced to a caning for drinking alcohol was unexpectedly released on Monday.

Last month, a religious court sentenced Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno to six strokes of the cane for drinking beer. She was the first woman to be sentenced to caning under Islamic Sharia law in Malaysia. 

She was taken into custody by religious authorities on Monday and was being transported from her home in the northern province of Perak to a jail in Kuala Lumpur, where the sentence was to be carried out. However, the vehicle only travelled a short distance before stopping and then turning around and taking Ms Kartika home again. Religious authorities decided to postpone carrying out the punishment until the end of Ramadan.

The case has caused a sensation in Malaysia. Several human rights organisations have protested against the sentence.