A chance association turned my thought today to Michael Fay, the American teen who in 1994 was sentenced to be caned in Singapore after allegedly vandalizing cars. Fay pleaded guilty on the understanding that he would not be caned and later claimed that he had never vandalized any cars, only stolen a couple of street signs. Judicial caning in Singapore is extraordinarily painful and can leave scars for years. Barely budging in response to U.S. pressure, the Singaporean government reduced the sentence from six cane strokes to four - and carried it out.
1994: When a caning seemed like torture
1994: When a caning seemed like torture
1994: When a caning seemed like torture
A chance association turned my thought today to Michael Fay, the American teen who in 1994 was sentenced to be caned in Singapore after allegedly vandalizing cars. Fay pleaded guilty on the understanding that he would not be caned and later claimed that he had never vandalized any cars, only stolen a couple of street signs. Judicial caning in Singapore is extraordinarily painful and can leave scars for years. Barely budging in response to U.S. pressure, the Singaporean government reduced the sentence from six cane strokes to four - and carried it out.