A Blow to Humanity. Torture by Judicial Caning in Malaysia

Amnesty International, 2010. — 57 p.Across Malaysia, government officials regularly tear into the flesh of prisoners with rattan canes (rotan) travelling up to 160 kilometres per hour. The cane shreds the victim's naked skin, turns the fatty tissue into pulp, and leaves permanent scars that extend all the way to muscle fibres. Blood and flesh splash off the victim's body, often accompanied by urine and faeces. This gruesome spectacle is kept hidden from public view. The pain inflicted by caning is so severe that victims often lose consciousness as a result. Afterwards the suffering can last for weeks or even years, both in terms of physical disabilities and psychological trauma. As a punishment that intentionally inflicts severe pain and trauma, caning violates the absolute prohibition against torture and ill-treatment under international law.Amnesty International estimates that as many as 10,000 people each year are subjected to caning in Malaysia, and many of them are foreign nationals. The Malaysian government does not punish officials for these actions. On the contrary, it trains officers how to conduct caning and pays them a bonus for each stroke. Some of these officers also seem to augment their income by soliciting bribes from caning victims, who pay them to miss strokes on purpose. The execution of a caning sentence is part of a larger process that is rife with abuse. Many caning victims told Amnesty International how they were arrested without being informed of the charges against them. Most of them said they were tried without access to a lawyer, despite the seriousness of the punishment. Failure by the courts to provide adequate translation meant that some foreign detainees were not even informed of their sentence.ContentsI. Introduction and Summary
Background
MethodologyII. Arrest and Trial
Arrest
TrialIII. Prison
Waiting for caning
Call-Up
Making victims witness abuse
Medical Check
IV. Caning
Location
Reading out the sentence
Caning professionals
Point of impactV. Aftermath
Lack of medical treatment
Physical suffering and recovery
Mental trauma
DischargeVI. Lasting Damage
Scars
Other physical effects
Psychological effects
The false rationale of deterrenceVII. Recommendations
To the Government of Malaysia
To the international communityAnnex I. Offences punishable by caning in Malaysia
Annex II. Caning as Torture or Other Ill-Treatment Under International Law
Caning and the definition of torture
The issue of ‘lawful sanctions’
Other international standards and jurisprudence
Conclusion
Endnotes