Malaysia under fire over caning of 30,000 foreigners

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has said it caned nearly 30,000 foreigners since 2005, a revelation that drew condemnation Monday from rights groups who demanded an end to the "barbaric" practice.

Amnesty International says that caning has hit epidemic proportions in Malaysia, where the beatings are administered with a long stick that leaves permanent physical and mental scars.

Rights groups were outraged after it emerged that the government said in a statement to parliament last week that a total of 29,759 foreign workers were caned between 2005 and 2010 for various immigration offences.

"Judicial caning is a form of torture and ill-treatment against human beings because it causes physical suffering, psychological problems and constant trauma," Andika Abdul Wahab from rights watchdog Suaram said in a statement.

"This form of barbaric solution is prohibited" by international law, he added.

Suaram said the foreign workers were usually picked up during large-scale crackdowns on illegal migrants.

Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest importer of labour, with workers mostly coming from neigbouring Indonesia.

London-based Amnesty also urged Malaysia to immediately halt judicial caning, which is meted out for serious crimes including murder and rape, as well as for immigration violations.

"The government's figures confirm that Malaysia is subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment each year," said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific director of Amnesty International.

"While most countries have abolished judicial caning, Malaysia has expanded the practice. Parliament has increased the number of offences subject to caning to more than 60," the group said.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein declined to comment on the issue Monday but an aide confirmed the minister's statement made to parliament.

Corporal punishment has become a hot topic in Malaysia, particularly after a Muslim mother of two was sentenced to six strokes of the cane and a fine for drinking alcohol in 2009.

However, caning for such religious offences - ordered by Islamic courts which run in parallel with civil courts in the Muslim-majority country - is much lighter than in the civil justice system.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno's sentence for drinking alcohol was eventually reduced to community service but three other women then received between four and six strokes of the cane after being convicted of sex outside marriage.

The penalties triggered uproar among women's activists and human rights advocates.

AFP/cc