LETTERS: Caning or Corporal Punishment Meted Out to Prisoners Who Are Below 60 For Specified Crimes Should be Abolished.
It is a practice left to us by the British and even they have abolished caning.
Caning inmates serving a sentence is akin to imposing a double punishment for the wrongs they have committed.
Last month, I visited the Prison Museum in Melaka and there was a video presentation on the caning procedure.
I saw it with a group of primary schoolchildren, and they cringed at what they saw. Many closed their eyes.
According to former inmates who were caned, each lash was extremely painful and drained the life out of them.
They were left with permanent scars and physical disabilities. The pain is indescribable and the wound stays for weeks.
Caned inmates are unable to sit or sleep on their back for some time. The wounds take time to heal and defecating is painful.
Many countries have done away with caning as a punishment.
Former law minister Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had said that Malaysia would abolish caning by 2023, and judges will have the discretion once amendments to the law are passed.
We continue to hope that the abolishment of caning will be a reality soon. Though the wounds heal, the scars remain.
SAMUEL YESUIAH
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times