Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) last week sparked widespread discussion when he proposed that people convicted of fraud be caned as punishment.
Hung in a Facebook post that started with “Singapore can. Can Taiwan?” cited a Straits Times report as saying that the Singaporean government plans to expand the use of caning as a punishment to scammers and scam mules.
Despite scammers already facing fines and a maximum of 10 years in prison in Singapore, fraud cases have continued to rise, prompting authorities to seek a more effective deterrent, Hung said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Under the proposed law, scam mules in Singapore could face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes, while members and recruiters of fraud syndicates could face up to 24 strokes, he said.
Taiwan has long failed to stamp out crimes such as fraud and drunk driving, even with steadily increasing penalties, leading some “academics and members of the public” to propose adopting Singapore’s caning system, he said.
Hung said he would suggest holding legislative exchanges with Singapore, similar to his trip to Japan with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to meet with Japanese lawmakers, to gain a “first-hand understanding” of how the caning system works.
Hung’s post garnered an enthusiastic response, racking up more than 100,000 likes and 24,000 comments as of yesterday, with many people calling for other criminals, such as child or animal abusers, to also be caned.
A number of public figures in Taiwan also weighed in on the subject, such as influencer Cheng Tsai-wei (鄭才暐), also known as “Cheap,” who said that Singapore is able to maintain its caning system for a variety of reasons, including its unique role as an international finance and shipping hub, and its relative insulation against international pressure.
Although Taiwan has some international leverage due to its prominence in chipmaking and high levels of support for capital punishment, the government has adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits corporal punishment, he said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that the idea would be a “step backwards” for human rights in Taiwan.
Caning criminals would draw international condemnation and serves no rehabilitative purpose, Chuang said, suggesting more “reasonable” ways to combat fraud, such as increasing penalties or making it more difficult for scammers to be granted parole.
According to the Singapore Legal Advice Web site, judicial caning is applicable to more than 30 offenses under the Singaporean Penal Code, and is mandatory for offenses such as robbery, drug trafficking and vandalism.
Judicial caning can be administered to males aged 18 to 50, and involves up to 24 strokes on the buttocks using a long rattan cane.
Hung did not indicate that he would pursue legislation to enact the caning of scammers into law.
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