Caning in Malaysia

Two types of rotan: The front row shows the thicker-type rotan, while the back row consists of slender rotan.

Judicial caning in Malaysia is an official form of corporal punishment awarded by the courts. The maximum number of strokes that can be ordered under the criminal law is 24. Two different types of rattan (rotan) canes are used:

• Thinner rotan, used for white-collar crime such as bribery or criminal breach of trust.
• Thicker rotan, used for serious offences, particularly violent crime, drug possession, and sexual offences.

Malaysian law excludes the following from judicial caning under the criminal law:

• Women;
• Men aged 50 and above (except when convicted of rape);
• Anyone judged unfit by a medical officer;
• The Insane;
• Anyone under the age of 10

Boys aged 10 to 18 may be ordered up to ten strokes with a light cane.

In the case of adults, judicial caning under the criminal law is always combined with a term of imprisonment. It is not to be confused with less severe canings ordered by the Muslim religious courts (see below), or with caning in schools, also much less severe, which is lawful and common in Malaysia.

Methods

On the day of judicial caning, the subject undergoes a medical checkup. Subjects that are to be caned that day are then lined up for their turn, in a place where they cannot be seen by prisoners who are not undergoing the same punishment.

The prison director oversees the caning, along with a medical officer and another prison official. The director reads the terms of punishment to the subject, and asks the subject to confirm the punishment.

A mannequin tied to an A-frame.

The subject remains naked after the medical checkup, except for an apron tied around the waist. During the caning process, the subject's hands and thighs are tied to an A-frame.

Caning officials are required to fulfill certain requirements, and to be officially certified as caners. As of 2005, they are paid RM10.00 for each strike of the rotan, an increase of RM1.00 from a decade earlier.

The caning official begins with holding the rotan at face level. When the caning official is ready, the left hand is released and the rotan is swung with full force towards the subject's buttocks. To ensure maximum effect, the caning official ensures that the rotan's tip comes in contact with the subject.

The entire caning punishment must be carried out in one session. If the subject faints or is rendered unconscious, the overseeing medical officer will halt the caning process. A court hearing may be held for the remainder of the caning to be converted into a jail sentence. The general conversion is generally five or six months' jail term for each remaining stroke.

Sanitary procedures are observed in order to avoid HIV transmissions. In the case of HIV-positive subjects, new rotans are used, which are subsequently burnt upon completion of the caning process. Caning officials wear protective smocks, gloves, and goggles in order to avoid contact with blood and flesh.

After caning, the subject will be delivered to the prison clinic for treatment, and spends this time lying face-down due to the sustained injuries.

Sharia caning

Malaysia also has a separate system of sharia courts for Muslims, which can order canings. This kind of caning is quite different from, and much less severe than, judicial caning under Malaysian criminal law. It is intended to be shaming rather than particularly painful. The cane used is smaller and the recipient keeps his or her clothes on. It is administered with a "limp wrist" and without raising the arm. In theory a Sharia court can pass sentences of caning on women; in practice a handful of such sentences have been passed but none has yet been carried out.

Kartika case

There is great controversy surrounding the caning sentence for Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno. She would be the first woman caned under Sharia law in Malaysia. Katrika's sentence still has not been carried out because of doubt as to how it should be implemented. Finding a female caner seems to be of particular concern. While some say Katrika's sentence does not conform to Islamic law, Mohamad Sahfri, chairman of the Pahang Religious Affairs Committee, says that all relevant regulations have been observed. Prime Minister Najib has called on Kartika to appeal her sentence while emphasizing that the federal government has no power to intervene under Malaysia's constitution.

Kartika is a Muslim of Malaysian origin now resident in Singapore, who has worked as a hospital nurse and a part-time model. In 2007 she was arrested for drinking beer in a hotel bar, and in 2009 she was sentenced by a religious court to six strokes of the cane and a fine. Kartika indicated that she accepted her sentence, as she now respects the law. She even asked that the caning be carried out in public. Several Malaysian women's organisations have launched a campaign against the sentence, there was a Facebook fan group in her defence, and government ministers advised Kartika to appeal.

On 24 August she was picked up in a van to be taken to prison for the sentence to be carried out, but around an hour later she was returned, and told that the sentence would not be carried out until after Ramadan.

Some observers believed that the Malaysian authorities were trying to bury the affair. However, the Home Minister stated that he was satisfied that the Prison Department had the ability to carry out the sentence. On 28 September a Sharia appeal court upheld the sentence, although a date has not yet been set.

External links

• "Malaysia caning case sparks debate", Al Jazeera, Qatar, 23 August 2009. Includes video with interview with Kartika.
• Template:Languageicon "Hukuman Sebat Rotan Dari Segi Perundangan Dan Pelaksanaan". (English: "Caning from an Administrative and Procedural Viewpoint") Prisons Department of Malaysia. Accessed 13 June 2008. Includes pictures of the caning procedure, and a photograph of wealed buttocks following the punishment.

See also

• Caning
• Caning in Singapore
• Judicial corporal punishment