Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) yesterday suggested that Taiwan follow Singapore in using caning as a punishment for online scammers, while the Ministry of Justice said it is evaluating the issue.
Hung at the Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee meeting yesterday proposed emulating Singapore by introducing caning as a punishment for convicted offenders of certain crimes, including for digital fraud, and last month asked the ministry to study its application and feasibility.
“All our citizens are outraged by online scams, and we see Singapore has taken proactive measures to deal with it, and we shall monitor the development there to see if caning could be effective. If it leads to a decline in online scam cases and reduce losses in Singapore, then we shall cite their use of caning as a punishment,” Hung said.
Photo: Screen grab from the Legislative Yuan’s live stream
Singapore’s parliament last month discussed the use of caning for online scammers, he said, adding that the country later approved the use of up to 24 strokes of the cane.
Deputy Minister of Justice Hsu Shi-shiang (徐錫洋) said the ministry is studying its feasibility, and is seeking the opinions and input of experts.
The ministry is evaluating the pros and cons of introducing caning in Taiwan, Hsu said, adding that it would have to be in line with the UN’s Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) last week said that Taiwan is Asia’s second-safest country behind Singapore.
“People have said that it is because Singapore has caning... But caning is an inhuman punishment, and Singapore is not a truly free and democratic country,” Hsu Kuo-yung said.
Citing the Freedom House, he said that “Singapore ranks far behind Taiwan in democracy and freedom indices. Taiwan is consistently rated as a ‘free country’ in ranking on freedom and rights, only behind Japan in Asia, while Singapore is rated as ‘partly free,’ and lags far behind Taiwan.”
In the Freedom House report this year, Taiwan is rated as “free,” with an overall score of 94 out of 100, the second-highest rank in Asia for the 25th consecutive year, only behind Japan’s 96.
In comparison, Singapore has a score of 48 and is rated as “partly free,” and is not considered a full democracy, due to low scores for political rights and civil liberties, which reflect the dominance of its ruling People’s Action Party since the country’s independence in 1959, according to the Freedom House report
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