1994, Michael Fei, an American teenager, was found guilty of graffiti on the streets of Singapore and was fined with four lashes. At that time, the case was a sensation, and US President Bill Clinton pleaded for him, hoping that the Singapore government would be lenient. TVBS reporter Chen Yijia: "Singaporeans follow the judicial system of the British colonies and use flogging. Although Britain has abolished it, Singapore continues to use it after independence. 1965. "
Singapore is one of the few countries that still use flogging. If the suspect has caused serious physical and mental harm to the victim, one of the sentencing options is flogging, but there are still restrictions on criminals who execute flogging. Only when 16 is above, men under 50 can be sentenced to flogging.
The maximum sentence is 24 lashes. Teenagers over 7 years old but under 16 years old can be sentenced to 10 flogging at most. The whip used is very small, only three lashes at a time. Later, if the health condition does not allow, you may drop out of school. However, the scars and psychological trauma caused by being whipped once have made many prisoners prefer to spend more years in prison than being whipped.
Lin, a Singaporean lawyer: "A client asked me that if I was sentenced, I would rather sit in prison for a few more years than get whipped. Why? " They said they didn't want to be branded. Of course imprisonment is uncomfortable, but flogging is even more terrible! "
Human rights groups condemn the inhumanity of flogging, but lawyers believe that severe criminal law must be sacrificed to maintain social order. Lawyer Lin: "To maintain social order, there must be rules. Is it human nature to rape women? " Is it human nature to attack people weaker than you? If flogging is executed properly, I don't think it is inhuman. "Man:" Easy to use, if it is to deal with those rapists, it is a good way to make them unforgettable! " "