But Singapore’s state prosecution arm said Monday the court’s decision showed that the Southeast Asian island nation was holding the two Germans to “the same standards as all others”.
“Singapore’s laws against vandalism are well known. Caning is a prescribed punishment for the offence of vandalism, and the law applies to any person who chooses to break it,” a spokeswoman for the Attorney-General’s Chambers told AFP.
“Caning is not torture. It is carried out in Singapore under strict standards, monitored at all times by a doctor,” she added.
Von Knorre and Hinz were “vandals who broke the law for their own self-aggrandisement, without consideration of the social costs, and the disruptions that their acts would cause to others,” she said.
In their final hearing, both men called their acts a “stupid mistake” and pleaded for mercy.
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