Caning¹ as a form of judicial² punishment in Malaysia has reached "epidemic³" proportions and should be banned, according to a human rights group.

一个人权组织表示，鞭笞作为一种司法惩罚手段在马来西亚已经达到了“流行”的程度，应当被禁止。

Blows administered to（有助于，给予） the body with a long cane⁴ are a legal punishment for more than 60 offences in the country.

Amnesty International claims at least 10,000 prisoners and 6,000 refugees are caned⁵ there each year.

The government says caning is a legal and effective deterrent⁶（遏制的，威慑的） from criminal activity.

But Amnesty says the practice amounts to cruel and inhumane treatment as it leaves both physical and psychological damage, and should be banned.

"Across Malaysia, government officials regularly tear into the flesh of prisoners with rattan⁷（藤条） canes⁸ travelling up to 160km/h. The cane shreds⁹ the victim's naked skin, turns the fatty tissue into pulp¹⁰（纸浆，果肉） , and leaves permanent scars that extend all the way to muscle fibres," Amnesty says in a report on the practice.

It estimates that up to 1,200 canings happen in prisons centres each month. Offences that can be punished by caning include drug-related, violent and sexual offences, as well as migration¹¹ violations¹².

Though the origins of the practice of caning lie in British colonial regulations dating back to the 19th Century, the practice has become more widespread in recent years, used by the government as a means of dealing¹³ with the influx¹⁴ of migrant workers who have helped fuel its booming economy, Amnesty says.

"It's expanded over the past decade," Amnesty's Sam Zarifi said. "The majority of those punished this way are illegal migrants."

As the country does not officially recognise refugee status, those who have fled their homeland to Malaysia without the correct paperwork are automatically committing a criminal offence. Many are caned before being deported¹⁵, the group says.

In 2002, the group says, parliament made immigration violations such as illegal entry punishable by up to six strokes of the cane, increasing the use of the punishment in prisons and detention¹⁶ centres.

Mr Zarifi says that the officials who carry out the task are specially¹⁷ trained, and receive an additional payment for each stroke they administer. In 2005, the report says, this bonus was tripled to 10 ringgit ($3.20; £2) per stroke. This has led to a system of bribes¹⁸ within prisons, where guards accept cash not to carry out the punishment, Amnesty says.

According to the report, based on the interviews with some 57 prisoners, the punishment often takes place in separate, hidden areas of the detention centres. Prisoners are tied on to a specially built scaffold（脚手架，绞刑台） to keep them still while they are being hit.

Although doctors are present, Amnesty says, their function is often to revive prisoners who faint during the caning so that the full number of strokes can be administered.