Excerpt:
A Sydney man who was held down on his bed and whipped up to 40 times by strangers had recently converted to Islam and was reportedly being punished for drinking.
The 31-year-old was asleep in his apartment in Silverwater, in Sydney's west, when he woke to find four bearded men in his bedroom about 1am (AEST) yesterday.
Three of the intruders restrained him on the bed while the fourth man used a cable to lash him 40 times.