HOW A MAN WAS ALMOST CANNED TO DEATH: I HAVE TO ADMIT BEFORE WE MOVED HERE I THOUGHT IT WAS A BARBARIC THING TO DO.

 

how a man was almost canned to death: I have to admit before we moved here I thought it was a barbaric thing to do and many Western countries, 

Padding is put over the lower back (to protect the kidneys) and below the buttocks (to protect the genitals) so only the butt cheeks are exposed.

dead penalty of how a man was caned: Most people seem to have heard caning is used for punishment in Singapore. 

I have to admit before we moved here I thought it was a barbaric thing to do and many Western countries have over the years tried to apply pressure to the government to have the practice stopped

 For caning the recipient is bent over a wooden frame and their ankles and wrists are restrained.

Padding is put over the lower back (to protect the kidneys) and below the buttocks (to protect the genitals) so only the butt cheeks are exposed.

However…once you’ve lived here you quickly realise that this is one of the few places where you can walk around the city at all hours of the night without being harassed, mugged or in fear of your life.

It’s a common sight to see women walking on their own at night – I’ve often popped down to the local supermarket at 10pm – without any concerns for their safety.

There is also no graffiti, no vandalism, and a much higher degree of respect for people than anywhere else I have lived.

Not all of this is down to caning of course but I’m willing to bet that if the little bastards who keep spray painting the church in Lochem knew they would get a good wallop if they got caught, graffiti wouldn’t be a problem there.

Anyway, I’ve done a bit of research for those of you who are interested in the facts because lots of our visitors have asked about it.

Interestingly, the article contained this quote: “The idea that criminals might be reformed has been explicitly abandoned, at least by the most senior member of Singapore's judiciary: Chief Justice Yong Pung How has said, "Rehabilitation is something I have never understood [...] Compassion went out the window a long time ago.

Now I just deliver justice." ("Hard stand on crime and punishment", The Star, Malaysia, 5 May 1996).” How’s that for a hard line!

For caning the recipient is bent over a wooden frame and their ankles and wrists are restrained.

Padding is put over the lower back (to protect the kidneys) and below the buttocks (to protect the genitals) so only the butt cheeks are exposed.

“The Singapore Criminal Procedure Code lays down that 24 strokes is the maximum that can be ordered at any one trial. The strokes must all be inflicted on the same occasion, and not in instalments.

The Singapore Prison cane is made of rattan. Unlike bamboo, this is very flexible when wet. In some pictures the soaked rattan appears to be so bendy that it may be understandable that some observers are said to have mistakenly thought the implements were actually leather whips.

The size and dimensions of the cane are prescribed by regulation. For adult men it is 1.2 metres long and 1.3cm thick, thus about as long as a broom handle and as thick as a man's little finger. A smaller cane, the "light rattan", is used for boys under 16”.

“There are dozens of offences for which a man might be given the cane in Singapore - from serious violent crimes to some non-violent offences that seem relatively minor in the West but are regarded as serious in Singapore, a highly authoritarian state where the importation and sale of chewing gum is an offence (though not a caneable one) and where people can be prosecuted and fined significant sums for dropping litter, smoking in public places, or failing to flush a public toilet after use."

"Caning in Singapore is mandatory for over 40 different offences.

These range from serious crime, such as rape, robbery, or drug-trafficking, to lesser offences - possession of offensive weapons (such as a knife, dagger or sword), vandalism (including spray painting or a second offence of affixing a poster to a wall), or the sale, transport, delivery, or import of fireworks.

Men who enter Singapore illegally or who overstay their visas by more than 90 days automatically receive a minimum of 3 strokes of the cane.

In some cases a mandatory minimum number of strokes is required -- up to 15 for certain offences."

"Caning is optional for many further offences including rioting, extortion, living off the earnings of prostitution, manslaughter, and causing hurt.

It has also been introduced for a third offence for certain road traffic offences, though there are few reports of this being applied in practice.

Since the 1990s, moreover, the highest courts have been more inclined to impose sentences of caning even where it is not mandatory. 

Examples are in cases of rape; "road bullying" where grievous hurt results; hiring of persons to assault another; and molesting women.