In October 2025, two secondary school teachers were charged for causing injury to a student by using a rotan on two separate occasions.
News of these charges raised an interesting question – Is it wrong for a teacher to cane a student?
On one hand, some supported the charges, saying that teachers should not be allowed to perform any physical punishment on students. On the other hand, some have expressed frustration that a teacher is facing criminal charges trying to “discipline” a student.
While we do not have the specifics, the offence of voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon requires proving the following elements.
- That the teacher caused the student to be hurt (bodily pain);
- That the teacher acted intentionally or knew that he would cause hurt; and
- That the rotan used was a weapon that could likely cause death.
If these elements are proven, the crime would be proven.
You may be wondering, “Is a rotan really a weapon?”. Well, “weapon” does not just mean obviously dangerous items (like a knife or a hammer) but also includes any item that can become deadly if used as a weapon (like a wooden stick or a belt).
The Court will need to look at how bad the student was hurt and whether the teachers knew they could cause such hurt with a rotan in deciding whether the teachers are guilty.
Ironically, if the teachers are found guilty, they could be sentenced to be caned with a rotan.
At first glance, that might sound fair. If you hurt someone, someone should hurt you.
But, what happened to the saying “an eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind”? If you punch someone because they punched you, the punching will never end. We know this is wrong because punching someone is wrong to begin with.
So, why is it acceptable to cane a teacher because he caned a student? If caning is a crime, doesn’t that mean that it is also wrong to cane anyone to begin with?
The practice of caning is a legal punishment under Malaysian law. However, only the Courts are allowed to do so – and they do so often. Whenever you hear reports of a person being sentenced to whipping or “sebatan” that means being caned with a rotan on a very severe level.
According to Amnesty International, caning in Malaysia involves a rotan “travelling up to 160 km/h. The rotan shreds the victim’s naked skin, turns the fatty tissue into pulp, and leaves permanent scars that extend all the way to muscle fibres. Blood and flesh splash off the victim’s body, often accompanied by urine and faeces”.1
Generally, caning of criminals is an accepted norm in Malaysia.
However, in most countries, the idea of caning a criminal is completely unacceptable – because in most countries, the law does not accept physically punishing a criminal.
Malaysia is at the top of the list (along with Singapore and Brunei) of countries that frequently cane on criminals.
How did we end up with caning so many criminals? Well, the British introduced caning as a criminal punishment during their colonisation and the practice has just never left. By contrast, India (also colonised by the British) stopped caning criminals back in 1955 – 70 years ago.
On a very basic level, the colonial idea that the law should allow for criminals to be physically hurt is deeply ingrained aspect of Malaysian society – but there appears to be shift. Perhaps, the change in how society feels about teachers caning students indicates a fundamental change in how we view a person’s rights.
As a society, we need to realise that the question of “whether a teacher can cane a student as a punishment” is one example of the fundamental question of “whether physically hurting another person is an acceptable form of punishment”.
[1] A Blow to Humanity; Torture by Judicial Caning in Malaysia, Amnesty International, December 2010.
About the Author
Sahain is a Senior Associate of XK Law. He graduated with Honours from the National University of Malaysia. Sahain believes that the legal fraternity plays an integral part in the operation of the rule of law in Malaysia and is keen to utilise his legal education towards the betterment of society and the country.
Disclaimer: This post is not intended as a solicitation, is not legal advice, and is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice. You should not act upon any such information without first seeking qualified professional counsel on your specific matter.
