A married woman and a single man, both in their 30s and 40s respectively, were detained on suspicion of khalwat at a homestay in Johor early Tuesday morning.
The couple were apprehended by enforcement officers from the Johor Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JAINJ) during an inspection at about 1.05am.
In a statement, JAINJ said the operation was part of routine and periodic checks following surveillance at the premises, where several vehicles were spotted parked nearby.
Officers subsequently inspected several rooms before knocking on the door of one room suspected to be occupied, as its air-conditioning unit was still running.
However, no one responded despite officers knocking several times.
After nearly five minutes, a man opened the door wearing only shorts and no shirt, the department said.
Further inspection revealed a woman lying on the bed, dressed in sleeveless nightwear with thin shoulder straps.
Questioning revealed that the pair were not married to each other.
JAINJ said the woman admitted that she was still legally married, while the man was single. Both were believed to be working in the district.
The woman also claimed she was experiencing marital problems and was in the process of getting a divorce.
The pair are being investigated under Section 27 of the Johor Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1997.
JAINJ urged members of the public with information about suspected violations of syariah law to report them to the relevant religious authorities for further investigation and action.
