Whacking Into Fiji's Crime

From SEONA MARTIN in Suva

Spare the cane and spoil the iminal is the essence of new Fiji gislation on corporal punishment.

Fiji law has always allowed corporal inishment for certain offences.

The new legislation passed in the ouse of Representatives in July ily widens magistrates’ powers to der a birching, or more correctly, caning for criminals.

Attorney-General Mr John Falvey id the legislation reinstated corporal inishment for offences for which it as abolished in 1969.

“It is felt that it is now necessary ' bring back the power to order cor >ral punishment for certain crimes : violence,” he said. There was owing concern about the increasing te of violent crimes, he said.

While most people share this con rn about elderly men being beaten id robbed, and even Suva’s shoe ine boys being bashed for sc, not 1 are convinced of the value of cor >ral punishment. The national :ecutive director of the YWCA, iss Amelia Rokotuivuna, was nong those who doubted whether e violence of corporal punishment as a deterrent.

She said most people committed ts of violence in an emotional or

illogical state, and beating was not likely to deter them.

The president of the Methodist Church in Fiji, the Rev Stan Andrews, warned that a system of corporal punishment could easily de generate into paying back violence with violence, and Fiji could become a violent society.

Some consider Fiji is heading that way already, and feel the law of an eye for an eye is the only answer.

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church, Father Lawrence Hannan, saw birching as a last resort when all else failed. The church saw no reason why punishment and deterrents should not be physical as well as spiritual.

The church did not advocate birch ing, however. It was up to the com munity to decide what was best for its members at a given time.

While social and welfare workers talked about the alternatives of re habilitation, the new legislation was passed and a magistrate ordered a dose of the cane for a man convicted of robbery with violence.

This particular offence was already punishable by beating, and was not affected by the new legislation. The man’s sentence of nine strokes and

two years gaol was confirmed by the Supreme Court, and the punishment with a thin cane was carried out by an unnamed prison officer, in the presence of the officer in charge of Suva’s gaol and a doctor.

The ‘bring back birching brigade’ have scored a win in Fiji, at least for the moment. They join the ranks of the supporters of capital punishment, who succeeded in having hanging re introduced this year after a five-year suspension.