The year was 1970. I was 25 years old and about to set off on a 2 week holiday to Singapore. Needless to say I was very excited. I had been abroad before, a week in Holland and a week in France, but Singapore was somethine else!
On arrival at Singapore, I booked into the YMCA, and was fortunate to meet four lads from Sydney, who knew Singapore. They took me around and showed me the best places to see, shop and drink. The holiday was very enjoyable, but too soon it was time to return home.
On the night before we were due to leave, we went to a favourite bar for a few farewell drinks. I was given a present to take home, and agreed not to open it until I got back to the UK.
We all drank too much beer. As the evening progressed, out behaviour became worse. We started to sing loudly, and eventually one of the Bar Staff asked us to leave. Outside, in the street, we continued drinking, shouting, swearing and singing. But we eventually arrived back at the Hostel.
The next morning my Australian friends left early for their flight, and later in the day, I packed my bags, including the present I had been given, and set off the the airport to catch my flight home.
When I went to check in for my flight, the check in agent advised me that the police had been in touch, indicating they wished to interview me. In view of that, the Agent was not prepared to check me in. After a while, however, she said that as she had heard nothing further from the Police, she would go ahead and check me in. If the Police still wanted to speak to me, I would not be allowed to board my plane.
Eventually my flight was called. To my dismay, however, the Police were waiting for me at the boarding gate. They told me they wished to talk to me about my possible involvement in vandalism, and drunken behaviour the previous night. My luggage was reclaimed, and I was taken to an airport interview room where my luggage was searched. The present I had been given the previous night was unwrapped, and to my horror, I found it contained a number of Government Warning notices. I was arrested immediatly and charged with drunken behaviour, stealing Government property, and vandalism. Then I was taken to a detention centre, and told I would have to appear in Court the following day.
I managed to get in touch with a representative from the Tour Company, and he engaged a Lawyer. The Lawyer came to see me, and advised me to plead guilty, but claim extenuating circumstances, on the grounds that I was not the only person involved, and the other people concerned had already left Singapore.
When I appeared in Court the District Judge accepted my plea, but said he was required by law to impose a minimum sentence. This was four months in Prison, a fine of 500 Singapore Dollars, and six strokes of the rotan(cane). At first I was numbed by the sentence. It was much worse than I had expected. However, after the trial, my Lawyer told me he would seek Presidential Clemency to have th sentence reduced. I was then taken to Prison to start my sentence.
When I had gathered my thoughts, to my surprise I started to become excited at the prospect of being caned. My main concern was that my Lawyer would succeed in getting the caning sentence withdrawn, but the fine and prison sentence would remain.
The next day my Lawyer came to see me, and I told him I would accept being caned, but would like the prison sentence reduced or set aside. At first he expressed surprise, but I explained that I was anxious to return home, as failure to do so, would probably cost me my job. He accepted this explanation, and he returned later in the day to advise me that he had succeeded in reducing the prison sentence to 7 days, but the find and caning sentence would remain unchanged. I would be caned the following day, and spend the remaining time of my prison sentence in the prison hospital. On release, I would be able to fly straight home. Later that day I was examined by a prison doctor, and declared fit to recieve my punishment.
I slept badly that night. On the one hand I was scared, on the other I was excited. As morning approached, I was sure I had made the wrong decision by choosing to be caned, but it was too late to do anything about it.
Two officers came for me. They did not speak, but I knew where I was being taken. I was led to a waiting room, ordered to strip naked, and given a towel to wrap around me. After a short while, I was taken into the caning room. On entering the room the towel was removed, and I was taken in front of the Prison Superintendent. He asked me to confirm my identity, and that I had been sentenced to six strokes of the rotan. After that, I was taken to the caning rack - an instrument similar to an old fashioned easel used in schools for supporting a blackboard. I was than given a final examination by the Doctor, and declared fit. All this time, of course I was completely naked. I was taken to the caning rack, my feet were strapped to the front base, with my legs together. I was bent over at an angle of 90 degrees, and my hands were strapped to the back of the frame. A thick rubber mat was placed over my back to protect my spine and kidneys.
Everything was now ready. Somebody shouted "cane one", and after a few seconds the cane struck my exposed buttocks. The pain was terrible and I cried out with pain. After a few minutes, another shout, and the second stroke hit. Once again I shouted out with pain and could feel the blood starting to trickle down my legs. Four more strokes followed, but at last it was all over. By this time I hardly knew what was going on. I was unstrapped, given a towel to wrap around me, then helped to the treatment room. I was required to lie on my stomach, and ointment was rubbed into the cuts on my buttocks. After a short while I was taken to the prison hospital, where I spent the next four nights.
It was impossible to sit down for two days, and after that it was still very sore. However, by the time I was released, I had more or less recovered, although the flight home was still rather uncomfortable.
When I arrived back in London, I was convinced I would be the centre of news attentiion, but fortunately the news of my experience had not reached the UK. I returned to my flat, and said nothing. The next day I went back to work, and once again, nobody was aware that I had been caned in Singapore.
I feld ashamed of myself and deeply embarrassed, and decided not to talk about my experience. However, after a couple of months, the football season started, and I signed up to play for my local team. When the first match was due to be played, the marks were clearly visible on my buttocks, and I realised that when I was changing into my football kit, or when I took a shower after the game, my team mated would be curious about the cane marks on my buttocks. I decided to be honest and tell the whole story. Needless to say, they were interested, not to say amused! I became the victim of some bad jokes. Somebody drew a carton of me, bending over and being caned. The caption read "Singapore certainly left it's mark on David"1