Caning in Singapore

Corporal punishment with a rattan cane is a prominent and long-standing feature of Singapore life.

There are four different types of caning in Singapore. All apply to males only and are administered to the posterior.

• Judicial caning, ordered by a court as a sentence for certain crimes as laid down in Singapore legislation. It is seen as an effective deterrent for certain kinds of offence. It is always combined with a prison sentence. It is always carried out privately in prison.
• Prison caning, for prisoners who break internal prison rules.
• Military caning, for members of the Singapore Armed Forces who break military rules.
• School caning, for disobedient schoolboys, inflicted by the school's Principal, Discipline Master or Operations Manager.

Judicial and prison canings are applied to the bare buttocks. Military caning is applied to the buttocks through a special cloth guard to reduce bleeding. School caning is delivered to the seat of the boy's ordinary school uniform trousers, or at some schools he has to change into PE shorts with no underpants to receive the punishment.

Judicial caning

The judicial cane is a rattan 1.2 metres long and half an inch thick. It is soaked in water to make it more pliant. The maximum number of strokes is 24. The de facto minimum is three. Courts may order caning for a wide range of offences including rape, robbery, repeated drug use, vandalism and rioting. Illegal immigrants and overstayers are also routinely caned, though usually only 3 strokes.

Females and persons aged over 50 may not be caned. Boys under 16 may be caned with a "light cane" but only by the High Court, not by lower courts.

The largest number of judicial canings takes place at Changi Prison, at a punishment session held every Tuesday and Thursday. Canings also occur at other prisons. About 60 men are caned at each session at Changi. The person to be caned is secured in a bending position to a special frame, so that his bare buttocks are presented for punishment. A special pad is affixed over the lower back to protect the kidneys. A prison doctor is present to ensure the health and safety of the prisoner.

A caning sentence is always combined with a prison sentence. The corporal punishment element is usually administered fairly early on in the prison term, once any avenue of appeal has been exhausted.

There are about 6,000 caning cases per year. A large number of these are relatively minor 3-stroke canings for illegal overstayers. Punishments of 20 or 24 strokes for very serious offences, though far more likely to be reported in the press, are much less common. Most court cases are not reported in newspapers.

Further details

Myths debunked

A lot of false information has been published over the years, especially in the American press and on the internet, about judicial corporal punishment in Singapore.

There is no such thing as "public caning" in Singapore, and never has been. Every caning is a strictly private event behind prison walls.

Nobody is ever caned for dropping litter, jaywalking or using chewing gum. These are not caneable offences. In fact, the mere personal use of chewing gum is not an offence at all: its importation into Singapore is an offence, but not a caneable one.

It is not true that if a prisoner loses consciousness while being caned the rest of the strokes are given at a later date. In such a case the doctor will remit the remainder of the corporal punishment sentence and the prisoner may be referred back to the court to have his prison sentence increased instead.

Canings are not administered in instalments. If the maximum possible 24 strokes are ordered, all 24 strokes will be carried out in one session.

Bamboo is never used. It is too brittle to be suitable for corporal punishment use. All canes are made of rattan.

Caning is not life-threatening. Nobody is recorded as having died as a result of being officially caned in Singapore.

School caning

Corporal punishment is commonplace in many Singapore secondary schools, and also some primary schools. It applies only to male students. Singapore law forbids the caning of girls. (Regulation No 88 under the Schools Regulation Act 1957.)

The punishment is applied across the boy's clothed buttocks with a rattan cane about 1 metre long.

Under Ministry rules, there is a maximum of six strokes per caning. In practice, the majority of canings are of either one, two or three hard strokes, typically delivered by a specially designated and trained "Discipline Master" (for whom this skilled task is a recognised part of his job description), with the miscreant bending over a desk or chair. Ministry regulations also permit caning on the palm of the hand, but in practice this is very rare, at any rate at secondary level.

Schools generally discipline boys in this manner for offences such as smoking, fighting, bullying, truancy, repeated latecoming, vandalism, stealing, disrespect and gangsterism. The majority of recipients are aged 13 to 17 inclusive, with 15 as the peak year.

School caning produces temporary intense pain, which is intended to deter the student from repeating the offence. Pain is likely to continue for several hours, especially after a caning of several strokes. There are "tramline" marks on the target area for several days, and there may also be bruising. Any bleeding is very slight and temporary, typically occurring only when multiple strokes have overlapped.

In some cases, a boy may be caned in front of his classmates or even the whole school. This is known as "class caning" or "public caning" respectively. However, not all schools do this, and the majority of corporal punishments are administered privately in the school office.

See: Further details