Caning is a widely used form of corporal punishment in Singapore. It can be divided into several contexts: judicial, prison, reformatory, military, school, and domestic. These practices of caning as punishment were introduced during the period of British colonial rule in Singapore. Similar forms of corporal punishment are also used in some other former British colonies, including two of Singapore's neighbouring countries: Malaysia and Brunei.
Of these, judicial caning is the most severe. It is applicable to only adult male convicts under the age of 50 for a wide range of offences under the Criminal Procedure Code, up to a maximum of 24 strokes per trial. Always ordered in addition to a prison sentence, it is inflicted by specially trained prison staff using a long and thick rattan cane on the prisoner's buttocks in an enclosed area in the prison. Male criminals who were not sentenced to caning earlier in a court of law may also be punished by caning in the same way if they commit aggravated offences while serving time in prison. Similarly, male juvenile delinquents in reformatories may be punished by caning for serious offences.
Servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who commit serious military offences may be sentenced by a military court to a less severe form of caning in the SAF Detention Barracks, which houses military offenders.
In a much milder form, caning is used as a disciplinary measure in schools. Boys aged between 6 and 19 may be given up to three strokes with a light rattan cane on the buttocks over clothing or the palm of the hand as a punishment for serious misconduct, often as a last resort. As the law does not allow schools to cane girls, they receive alternative forms of punishment such as detention or suspension.
A smaller cane or other implement is often used by some parents to punish their children. This practice is allowed in Singapore but not encouraged by the government. The Singaporean government has stated that in its opinion, the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not prohibit "the judicious application of corporal punishment in the best interest of the child."
Caning, as a form of legally sanctioned corporal punishment for convicted criminals, was first introduced to Malaya and Singapore during the period of British colonial rule in the 19th century. It was formally codified under the Straits Settlements Penal Code Ordinance IV in 1871.
In that era, offences punishable by caning were similar to those punishable by birching or flogging (with the cat o' nine tails) in England and Wales. They included robbery, aggravated forms of theft, burglary, assault with the intention of sexual abuse, a second or subsequent conviction of rape, a second or subsequent offence relating to prostitution, and living on or trading in prostitution.
Caning remained on the statute book after Malaysia became independent from Britain in 1957, and after Singapore ceased to be part of Malaysia in 1965. Subsequent legislation has been passed by the Parliament of Singapore over the years to increase the minimum strokes an offender receives, and the number of crimes that may be punished with caning.
Sections 325–332 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 lay down the procedures governing caning. They include the following:
A male offender, under 50 years of age, who has been certified to be in a fit state of health by a medical officer is liable to be caned.
The offender shall receive no more than 24 strokes of the cane on any one occasion, irrespective of the total number of offences committed. In other words, a man cannot be sentenced to more than 24 strokes of the cane in a single trial, but he may receive more than 24 strokes if the sentences are given out in separate trials. However, in the first case where a prisoner received more than 24 strokes in a single trial, armed robber Qwek Kee Chong (who served ten years in prison) was given 48 strokes of the cane on 8 April 1988 and later hospitalised for his injuries from the caning; he was later granted compensation for this error.
If the offender is under 18, he may receive up to 10 strokes, but with a lighter cane. Boys under 16 may be sentenced to caning only by the High Court and not by the State Courts.
Offenders sentenced to death whose sentences have not been commuted shall not be caned.
The rattan cane used shall not exceed 1.27 cm (0.50 inches) in diameter.
Caning must not be carried out in instalments. This is to ensure that prisoners receive their punishment in a single session and do not have to go through the process repeatedly, even if the full sentence might not have been administered for medical reasons.
Any male convict, whether sentenced to caning or not, may also be caned in prison if he commits certain offences while serving time in prison.
Singapore has not signed or ratified a number of international human rights treaties which prohibit the use of corporal punishment. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Under the law, women, men above the age of 50, and men sentenced to death, whose sentences have not been commuted, cannot be sentenced to caning.