Amnesty International today called for an immediate stop to the practice of judicial caning in Malaysia, which it said has "hit epidemic proportions" and subjected thousands of people every year to beatings which leave permanent physical and mental scars.

jag sis kartika caning review 300909 poster The London-based rights group said caning is meted out for a variety of crimes, from immigration violations as well as serious crimes including murder and rape.

"In every case that we examined, the punishment amounted to torture, which is absolutely prohibited under any circumstances," said Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi in a statement.

Since 2002, when Malaysia's Parliament made immigration violations subject to caning, tens of thousands of migrant workers and foreigners seeking asylum have been caned.

"In Malaysian prisons, specially-trained caning officers tear into victims' bodies with a meter-long cane swung with both hands at high speed," said Amnesty International.

"The cane rips into the victim's naked skin, pulps the fatty tissue below, and leaves scars that extend to muscle fibre. The pain is so severe that victims often lose consciousness."

In its in-depth report on the matter entitled 'A Blow to Humanity: Torture by Judicial Caning in Malaysia', Amnesty International cited the testimony of ex-detainees who had been caned for a variety of crimes.

fu ah kiow parliament pc 131106 harian metro dvd prisoner caning When the caning officer lands his cane after a full-body twirl on the victim's buttocks, the victim's body reacts instantly. Due to the impact, victims lose muscles control in the buttocks.

"For me the first one was the worst because I had never experienced pain like that. My bottom was shaking all by itself," Indonesian national Rasdi, who was caned for illegal entry into Malaysia, was quoted as saying. 

Amnesty said that prison officers are paid a bonus for each stroke, enabling them to double their income by administering the punishment.

Others, however, take bribes from family members of victims to intentionally miss, thus sparing the detainee.

The government has not established standard procedure for caning. Without judicial oversight of the actual caning process, discretion over the severity of a sentence is largely left in the executioner's hands, said the report.

The group called on the Malaysian government to put in place an immediate moratorium on all caning punishments with a view to its abolition, ratify the UN Convention Against Torture and its Optional Propotal and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It also called for the laws to be amended to treat immigration violations as administrative offences rather than crimes punishable by prison or corporal punishment.

Neighboring countries that significantly contribute to Malaysia's economy sending tens of thousands of migrant workers should also insist that Malaysia stop caning their citizens, Amnesty International added.