Cane - a moral wand gone wild

I’m not exactly a pacifist, but I fail to understand the rationale behind this.

A former despatch clerk was convicted of CBT by the Sessions Court and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and three strokes of the cane by Judge Rosenani Abd Rahman.

Three strokes of the cane – for Criminal Breach of Trust.

That’s the sort of punishment one associates more with rapists, kidnappers and robbers, and more recently illegal immigrants. The sum involved was RM122,690, reported NST, and persisted over the course of seven months. In all, the clerk M. Seri Shunmuganathan faced 21 charges of misappropriation of funds amounting to almost half a million ringgit.

Never mind how he could so freely cheat his former company, Sykt Chempaka Urus Sdn Bhd, for so long, for such a huge sum, without them knowing. Or that DPP Rahayu Abd Talib asked for a heavy sentence in view of “public interest” and rising numbers of misappropriation. Or that Shunmuganathan claimed he needs crutches to move around today because of police assault while in remand almost six years ago.

Just this. A despatch clerk breached the trust of his company and will get three ass-splitting, flesh-tearing strokes of the cane. He will be permanently marked on his butt like branded cattle.

Will any fat-assed ex-politician or businessman convicted of breaching the trust of his company and – God forbid – the nation, get the same treatment?

Help me out here. What is the history behind the induction of corporal punishment in CBT convictions? What were the intentions when it was made Law? Has this outlived its usefulness, assuming there was one in the first place?

I’m all for boosting the agriculture sector, but seriously… is Malaysia getting too rattan happy?