More Malaysian judicial canings -- Two clips.
CLIP 1 OF 2
In addition to the two video clips making a total of 22 minutes showing parts of a corporal discipline session at Seremban prison in Malaysia, available here, this is the full-length film of another judicial caning in Malaysia, from a different occasion but probably from the same prison, for which we previously had only a 50-second "edited highlights" version. This one lasts 4 minutes 25 seconds. This new version has improved picture quality. Also, the sound is much clearer, without the superimposed pop music of the earlier version.
As with the other JCP video clips, this is not for the squeamish.
In the earlier and heavily edited version of this film, only four of the ten strokes were shown. It seemed at the time that the recipient was taking his punishment remarkably stoically.
Now we have the whole thing, we can see that the prisoner's reactions were edited out. In reality, he is responding strongly to the punishment as it proceeds, moaning after each stroke, and his body appears to be struggling against the frame to which he is tied.
HERE IS THE CLIP:
CLIP 2 OF 2
In 2014 a video of a different 10-stroke rotan punishment was found. It is not known when it was carried out; possibly not recently. In broad terms it is similar to the one above, but the operator is leaving a longer period of time between several of the strokes. Unfortunately this video has had music added, and in the latter part there is a voiceover commentary. There is nothing we can do about that. Here is an English translation of the Malay commentary:
According to the Malaysian Criminal Code, retribution (pembalasan) is actually not the only goal of punishment. The Criminal Code underlines that there are four goals of punishment.
The first is retribution. The second is prevention, i.e. preventing the criminal in question from repeating his crimes. The third is prevention in the sense of preventing the general public from committing crimes. The fourth is rehabilitation, i.e. changing the criminal's personality [English word used] so that he becomes a responsible person who obeys the law.
HERE IS THE CLIP:
For additional information about the three different kinds of JCP in Malaysia (juvenile, adult criminal, and religious), see Country files.
