It always fascinate me how the romance of judicial caning continues to capture people's imagination. I lived in a country in the North East that practise judicial caning which we call it there flogging. Now I am a student teacher in an International School in another country, in the South East Asia. It wasn't my first choice ; I actually want to go to the States but my people are barred from that country. But here in this adopted country they also practise judicial caning which they call it whipping or caning. International students here always like to talk the locals and to me about this.
I find the writers of this archive obssess also with this story idea. Many write incredible fables as if they really know what happens. Many are quite on the ball but it is obvious that the truth has been bent.
In my country convicts are flogged naked, this is true, but they are flogged on their backs as well as buttocks. As quite correctly published many years ago in a reputed magazine, people congregate to watch. Now public flogging is not fashionable but in the old regime, people watched and hear the whole cruel proceeding. I say hear because the wielding of the power of the authorities then had led to the idea of putting forth microphones in front of the prisoner's mouth. So then during his flogging, witnesses are able to hear his cries. Yes, your hair start to stand up on your skin.
In this adopted country, public caning is so-called only because there were witnesses. But the word public is a misnomer, since not anybody was allowed to watch a caning. Witnesses were only family, victims and prison authorities. It was public only so far as after a prisoner was caned, prison officials took photographs of his backside as prove that the sentence had been carried out as provided by the legal system, so the public may see the photos and be satisfied. If you go to an Internet website on judicial caning in South east Asia you can find these photographs of a caned backside.
In these countries, which are Muslim, sodomy is heinous and act against nature. The anus is hardly exposed so prisoners legs are seldom spread. It is a fable to describe that prisoners are subjected to anal torture such as being sodomised or allowed to be by officials or by fellow prisoners. This is against Islam and sodomy is illegal so this is why pedophiles, incest and rape are punished with flogging in the first place. Perhaps in Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia, the legs of prisoners are spread during their caning so maybe the anus is exposed.
And the body being sacred to God, they don't subject prisoners to more than 16 lashes or strokes at one time. In this country, but not in mine, they even go to extent of putting soft pads around the prisoner's waist but his groin and genital is completely exposed. There are many photos on the Internet and you can see for yourselves. So, yes, they do try to protect the prisoner as much as possible.
This is not true in the Middle East, of course. We all know of the maid from Philippines who was flogged more than 100 times for killing her Saudi employer. Women in the East were flogged on their shoulders and backs and only were made naked up to their waists, no further.
I think writers use their poetic license to create their fables is good but only to be read lightly.
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