Malaysia's top court upholds caning as a valid punishment

Judges reject a challenge that argued it was cruel and degrading

Malaysia's top court has ruled that the use of caning as a form of punishment is constitutional, while dismissing a plea from prisoners seeking relief from the punishment imposed on them.

In a 2-1 majority decision, the Malaysian Federal Court ruled that the use of whipping or caning did not fall within the ambit of a cruel, oppressive and degrading punishment in the constitutional sense, Bernama reported on April 22.

It is not the function of the court to act as a moral arbiter or a 'super-legislature' in the guise of constitutional interpretation, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, one of the judges, said.

He also stated that the right to decide on the moral efficacy or social desirability of a specific punishment lies with the Malaysian parliament.

The judiciary would be overstepping its constitutional bounds if it substituted its own subjective moral preferences for the deliberate policy choices of the legislative branch, Salleh said.

The court was hearing arguments on a plea filed by convicts Mohammed Helmi Anuar Mohammed Kassim, 46, Kumanaan Anthony Vincent, 41, and J. Sivachandran, 38.

They had argued that caning violated their constitutional rights to life and equality before the law as guaranteed by the Malaysian constitution.

The trio had also cited the risk of death, referring to a case of an inmate who died after being whipped.

The court pointed out that the applicants had not provided any medical evidence to show that they were unfit or faced a risk of death if the caning sentence was carried out.

Salleh told the applicants that the punishment of whipping is not intended to cause death in the same way as the death penalty, which deprives a person of the right to life.

Kassim and Vincent were sentenced to death for drug trafficking, while Sivachandran faced the death penalty for murder. 

Under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023, their sentences were commuted to 30 years' imprisonment, along with caning.

The right to decide on the moral efficacy or social desirability of a specific punishment lies with the Malaysian parliament, not the judiciary.

Under the revised sentences, Kassim and Vincent were each given 24 strokes of the cane, while Sivachandran was given 12 strokes.

Caning in Malaysia is a judicial punishment applied to adult males under 50 for over 40 serious crimes, including rape, drug trafficking, violent robbery, illegal immigration, and corruption.

It is usually combined with imprisonment, mandated by civil law for criminal acts, or by Sharia law for religious or moral offenses such as drinking alcohol or sexual misconduct.

Among the judges, Lee Swee Seng delivered a dissenting decision, stating that whipping is unconstitutional as it violates the right to life, dignity, and equal protection of the law, and should therefore be struck down.

Seng opposed the way whipping is carried out under the Criminal Procedure Code and the Prison Regulations 2000.

The use of whipping or caning may result in some prisoners experiencing long-term physical limitations, including difficulty in standing for extended periods, particularly in manual jobs. Seng said.

Others may become wheelchair-bound and unable to continue working to support their families, he added.

Seng pointed out that his declaration of unconstitutionality of whipping applies prospectively, that is, sentences not yet carried out should not be executed, and no further sentences should be imposed under the relevant legal provisions.

He also clarified that this ruling will not extend to whipping under Sharia law, school disciplinary caning, or reasonable parental chastisement at home.

Sharia law in Malaysia operates at the state level as a parallel justice system exclusively for Muslims, focusing on family law, religious observance, and specific moral offenses. 

Source: UCAnews, Staff, April 23, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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