Taiwan's justice minister against introducing caning

Mar 19, 2007, 5:15 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's justice minister on Monday disapproved of caning for sex offenders, saying the penalty goes against the trend of democracy.

'Caning is a physical punishment. In the process of democracy, caning has been gradually excluded. Regarding whether we should introduce caning, we have to consider public opinion, experts' opinion and human rights,' Justice Shih Mao-lin told parliament.

'We discussed this issue several years ago, but there was opposition,' he said.

Shih was responding to the call by lawmaker Hsue Ling who made the appeal on Saturday after two men had been arrested for raping a female college student and a 64-year-old female taxi driver.

Hsueh, a legislator from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, held a press conference to call for the inclusion of caning as punishment in the Prevention of Sexual Offenses Act. Several DPP lawmakers supported her call.

In November 2006, Taiwan began to require some paroled sex offenders to wear the electronic tracking devices, but Hsueh and the other DPP lawmakers said this is not enough.

Caning was a common punishment in many parts of Middle East and Africa, Asia and Europe and several European colonies in the 19th and early 20th century.

While many countries consider it cruel, inhumane and degrading, caning is still used in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei as well as some African countries.