Recently, I was shocked to be informed that prisoners in Malaysian jails are caned with the same bloody cane that is already soaked with blood from the caning of the previous prisoner.

Although the prison doctor has checked and certified that these to be caned prisoners are fit, there needs to be specific blood tests to rule out blood borne diseases such as HIV, hepatitis etc.

But even if this tests are done, it should be remembered that there is a window period of about three months for false negative results even though the person is already infected with HIV.

This gives rise to the very serious and dangerous possibility of infectious diseases, including HIV, being spread because of contaminated canes. It must be remembered that caned prisoners, sooner or later, rejoin society.

Don't think about wiping the canes clean, using disinfectants or sterilisation as all of these methods have been proven to be ineffective. The authorities must use disposable canes which should be discarded after use on a single prisoner.

These canes must be disposed the same way clinics and hospitals dispose of used needles which means incineration by authorised waste disposers. Clinics can be fined up to RM5,000 if they fail to engage these authorised waste disposers. The prisons' cane usage and disposal must also be subject to the same laws.

Another serious repercussion is the possibility of legal suits from prisoners who claim that they have been infected with HIV through caning procedures in prison. This could lead to the government paying out huge sums in compensation as such a claim would be very difficult to counter.

There is only one foolproof way to prevent this - stop canning. If we don't, there will be consequences to suffer. Let's not wait for the consequences.