Bandar seri begawan: More than 600 criminal cases were reported in the Syariah Subordinate Court in 2025. The number is based on the statistics report by the Syariah Courts, which include 'Sulh' cases.
According to Radio Television Brunei, 106 'Sulh' cases were registered at the Sulh Unit. From this figure, 36 cases were resolved, while the remainder have not yet reached a 50 percent success rate. For criminal cases at the Syariah Subordinate Court nationwide, a total of 631 cases were registered. Among these, 241 cases were related to Khalwat or close proximity involving Muslims, while 17 cases involved close proximity among Non-Muslims.
For the offence of attempting to commit adultery, five cases involved 'Muhsan' under Section 71(A); and 15 cases involving 'Ghairu Muhsan' under Section 71(B) were reported. Additionally, for the offence of pregnancy out of wedlock, 10 cases involved 'Muhsan' under Section 94(1)(B), while 12 cases involved 'Ghairu Muhsan' under the same section. Eighteen cases were recorded for the offence of impregnating a Muslim woman out of wedlock, under Section 94(5). This brings the overall criminal cases related to attempting adultery or pregnancy out of wedlock to 60 cases.
Over a five-year period from 2020 to 2025, 248 cases under Sections 71(A), 71(B), 94(1)(A), 94(1)(B), and 94(5) were reported nationwide. For the whipping punishment, 10 out of 12 cases were whipped under Section 71(A). For Section 71(B), 34 out of 44 cases resulted in whipping. Meanwhile, for 'Ghairu Muhsan' adultery cases under Section 69(2)(B) in the Syariah High Court, three out of five cases were punished with whipping. Statistics also revealed that at least 40 babies were born outside of wedlock in 2025 based on cases under Sections 94(1)(A), 94(1)(B), and 94(5).