An Indonesian man collapsed and begged for mercy as he was flogged 146 times for molesting and raping a child in Aceh province where public whipping is a common punishment for violating Islamic law.

The 19-year-old grimaced and cried out as a masked sharia officer whipped his back with a rattan stick in the town of Idi.

His punishment was witnessed by reporters.

He pleaded for the punishment to stop and was briefly treated by doctors.

The flogging then restarted.

The man was arrested earlier in 2020.

The victim's age was not revealed.

The 146 lashes the man was sentenced to was a particularly high number reserved for the most serious crimes.

"The maximum sentence is meant to be a deterrent," Ivan Nanjjar Alavi, an official from the East Aceh prosecutor's office, told reporters.

Aceh is on the western tip of Sumatra and is conservative.

It is the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to impose Islamic law under an autonomy deal with the central government that ended a long-running separatist insurgency.

Public lashings can attract hundreds of spectators, but crowds have dwindled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The practice, condemned by rights activists, has wide support among Aceh's mostly Muslim population.

The province allows whipping for crimes such as gambling, adultery, drinking alcohol, and having gay or pre-marital sex.

Top photo via Getty