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LATEST NEWS
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In 2007, this still happens
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Fri, 03 August 2007
A worldwide condemnation erupted after a video posted on an internet video-sharing website showed a Malaysian prisoner being tortured with a cane.
The disturbing video, posted on liveleak, showed a naked man strapped to an upright wooden frame, his rear exposed to a uniformed official who lifts a meter-long rattan stick above his head before bringing it down on the prisoner's buttocks, tearing the flesh with each strike.
In the video the prisoner can be seen moaning and shaking with pain whilst being struck six times and has spread quickly across the internet causing an uproar by incredulous people, most of which commented that they didn’t know these type of things happened in the supposedly civilised societies we live in.
Malaysian authorities defend torture
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"The government at this stage has no plans to abolish the cane as part of punishment," Deputy Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow told Reuters by telephone.
He said the video was an official recording that had been leaked onto the Internet. The video had been produced for deterrent purposes, with excerpts shown during anti-narcotic education sessions to would-be drug dealers, he added.
"This video was taken officially by us for a demonstration purpose, but it is not supposed to have the victim's face identified. Somehow somebody must have taped (copied) it."
The minister added: "The video is a means to educate the public and to show how hideous caning can be. It is a deterrence for drug traffickers and drug addicts.
"Somehow somebody duplicated it and posted it on the website, but it's not done by our officials. It is for education and training purposes, there's no big deal about it."
“Inhumane and degrading”
Officials monitor torture session
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The shocking video, condemned by Malaysian lawyers, sees the unidentified male prisoner thought to be a drug dealer, is shown being struck 20 times on his bare buttocks with a rotan - a bamboo-like cane.
The Bar Council of Malaysia, which represents 8,000 lawyers, has called for such punishment to be abolished and stepped up its campaign after highlighting the video images.
"We are against the death penalty and corporal punishment," said council president Ambiga Sreenevasan.
"It's against all international human rights norms and the various conventions on torture. It's inhumane and degrading."
GRAPHIC CONTENT
Officials prepare wooden mechanism to hold the prisoner
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Prisoner belted for slashes
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Slash after slash, the shaking prisoner cries in pain
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Following the six minute ordeal, the prisoner goes back to his cell
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M'sia defends caning as video hits Net
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KUALA LUMPUR
04-Aug-07
MALAYSIA defended yesterday its practice of caning criminals after a disturbing video of a prison-yard caning session burst onto the Internet, reigniting criticism from lawyers and human rights advocates.
In the video, a naked man is shown strapped to an upright wooden frame, his rear exposed to a uniformed official who lifts a metre-long ratan stick above his head before bringing it down on the prisoner's buttocks, tearing the flesh with each strike.
The video, in which the moaning and shaking prisoner is struck six times, has spread quickly across the Internet, capturing headlines in the Web sites of some European newspapers and forcing the Malaysian government on to the defensive.
"The government at this stage has no plans to abolish the cane as part of punishment," Deputy Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow told Reuters by telephone.
He said the video was an official recording that had been leaked onto the Internet.
The video had been produced for deterrent purposes, with excerpts shown during anti-narcotic education sessions to would-be drug dealers, he added.
"This video was taken officially by us for demonstration purposes, but it is not supposed to have the victim's face identified. Somehow somebody must have taped (copied) it."
Malaysia is not alone in caning criminals, which critics say breaches human rights norms, including the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Neighbouring Singapore also wields the ratan and caused a United States outcry 13 years ago when it caned American teenager, Michael Fay, four times for vandalism.
But Malaysia's Bar Council, which represents about 12,000 lawyers, recently called for a ban on caning, saying the "cruel" practice was rising in Malaysia, especially on illegal immigrants after hasty hearings arranged at crammed detention centres.
"They have started imposing the caning sentence in a more rigorous way and it can affect anyone who comes here without a passport or papers ... ," said Latheefa Koya, of the council's Legal Aid Centre.
The government denied use of the cane was widespread against illegal immigrants and Fu said it was reserved mainly for the traffickers of illegal immigrants in addition to drug-traffickers and violent criminals. Reuters
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Naked prison caning vid draws fury
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) -- Malaysia defended on Friday its practice of caning criminals after a disturbing video of a prison-yard caning session burst onto the Internet, reigniting criticism from lawyers and human rights advocates.
In the video, a naked man is shown strapped to an upright wooden frame, his rear exposed to a uniformed official who lifts a meter-long rattan stick above his head before bringing it down on the prisoner's buttocks, tearing the flesh with each strike.
The video, in which the moaning and shaking prisoner is struck six times, has spread quickly across the Internet, capturing headlines in the Web sites of some European newspapers and forcing the Malaysian government on to the defensive.
"The government at this stage has no plans to abolish the cane as part of punishment," Deputy Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow told Reuters by telephone.
He said the video was an official recording that had been leaked onto the Internet. The video had been produced for deterrent purposes, with excerpts shown during anti-narcotic education sessions to would-be drug dealers, he added.
"This video was taken officially by us for a demonstration purpose, but it is not supposed to have the victim's face identified. Somehow somebody must have taped (copied) it."
Malaysia is not alone in caning criminals, which critics say breaches human rights norms, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture. Neighboring Singapore also wields the rattan stick and caused a U.S. outcry 13 years ago when it caned an American teenager, Michael Fay, four times for vandalism.
But Malaysia's Bar Council, which represents about 12,000 lawyers, recently called for a ban on caning, saying the "cruel" practice was rising in Malaysia, especially on illegal immigrants after hasty hearings arranged at crammed detention centers.
"They have started imposing the caning sentence in a more rigorous way and it can affect anyone who comes in (to Malaysia) without a passport or papers, so it happens to asylum-seekers and refugees," said Latheefa Koya, of the council's Legal Aid Center.
The government denied use of the cane was widespread against illegal immigrants and Deputy Internal Security Minister Fu said it was reserved mainly for the traffickers of illegal immigrants in addition to drug-traffickers and violent criminals.
Fu said the government also faced calls from victims of crime for the use of the cane to be maintained or even increased for some serious crimes "in view of the crime rate in Malaysia".
Crime is seen as a major electoral issue in the run-up to a possible early general election, expected early next year.
"We respect the view of the Bar Council but there are many other views from the people and also from the victims of crimes that there should be an increase (in caning)," Fu said.
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