Whipping has no place as a form of punishment in today's world, according to two human rights organisations that have lobbied against its use as a penalty for crime.

They were reacting to a government proposal to introduce whipping as a punishment for snatch thefts, under proposed amendments to the Penal Code.

Suaram executive director Cynthia Gabriel, when contacted, said the organisation feels this would not solve the problem of snatch thefts in the long run.

She said Suaram had already expressed its reservations at a meeting earlier this year with the parliamentary select committee on crime, headed by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Radzi Sheikh Ahmad.

"This is a knee-jerk reaction based on public anger over snatch thefts. The government should spend more resources on researching why this crime occurs. The authorities need to implement existing laws effectively and act efficiently in curbing it," she said.

"Additional laws and punishments will not solve the problem. The whipping of criminals will contravene international norms and standards."

The government is considering making snatch thefts a specific crime in light of increasing incidents and the death of several victims this year alone. The most recent was a 47-year-old Sabahan who died after being repeatedly stabbed by her assailants.

The select committee is on a seven-state roadshow to obtain public feedback before amending the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. The proposed bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament in July and, if passed, will come into force at the end of next year.

Currently, snatch thieves are charged and penalised under various laws for theft or robbery which carry a prison sentence ranging from seven to 20 years.

The internal security ministry said in July that the Emergency Ordinance can be invoked as well, to detain suspects for two years without being charged with the offence.

'Cruel and degrading'

Amnesty International's office in Kuala Lumpur also condemned the proposal.
"Amnesty's position is that whipping someone is cruel, inhuman and degrading. International standards make it clear that such treatment constitutes torture," said Josef Roy co-ordinator of the Malaysian chapter.

He said Amnesty is of the view that whipping is not likely to deter snatch thefts, as much as it has not deterred the influx of economic migrants or asylum seekers.

"Judicial corporal punishment is unlawful because it entails key elements of torture and ill-treatment including the deliberate infliction of severe pain and suffering," he said.

In 2000, 31 countries had corporal punishment provisions in their statute books, but only 14 implemented these, according to Amnesty's research.

Previous statements by the United Nations Human Rights Commission have made it clear that it considers whipping as amounting to torture.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia had, last year, urged the government to reconsider the use of whipping as punishment for criminal offences.