Caning ‘epidemic’ slammed

(Straits Times) WASHINGTON – AMNESTY International on Wednesday urged Malaysia to end a caning ‘epidemic,’ saying that authorities have meted out the punishment to thousands of men in addition to the high-profile case of three women.

Malaysian authorities said on Wednesday that they had caned three women for having extramarital sex in violation of Islamic law, a first in the Muslim-majority country.

But Amnesty International said the case was the ‘just the tip of the iceberg’ and that Malaysia often caned men for routine offenses.

Citing Malaysian authorities, the London-based human rights group said authorities caned more than 35,000 people – mostly non-Malaysians – for immigration violations since 2002.

‘These thousands of cases point to an epidemic of caning in Malaysia,’ said Donna Guest, the group’s deputy Asia-Pacific director.

‘The Malaysian government needs to abolish this cruel and degrading punishment, no matter what the offense,’ she said in a statement.