Joint Statement: In Malaysia the mandatory death penalty has been abolished, but whipping is lethal
Zaidi Abd Hamid passed away on 7 October 2025 in Pokok Sena prison at the age of 49 after receiving a sentence of 12 strokes of the rotan (whipping). At the time, Malaysia's Prison Department denied he passed away after being whipped, and this was misleading. Now, an investigation by SUHAKAM (the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia) has confirmed that before he died, Zaidi’s whipping wounds became infected, and he did not receive proper medical care. Thus, while Zaidi was spared the death penalty, he ultimately died after receiving his alternative sentence of whipping.
We are calling on Malaysian authorities to undertake a comprehensive review of the life-threatening punishment of whipping. After receiving his whipping sentence, Zaidi was not taken to the sick bay or given antibiotics when his wounds became infected. Others detained with him tried their best to help him keep his wounds clean, but prison conditions made this impossible.
SUHAKAM has called for a formal inquiry into whether Zaidi’s death occurred as a result of criminal negligence. They have also called for a review of healthcare provision in Pokok Sena prison and other prisons.
Along with 1,056 others, Zaidi applied for resentencing under Acts 846 and 847, which abolished the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia and gave everyone sentenced to mandatory death or natural life (sepanjang hayat) sentences the right to seek new sentences. By law, the only available alternative sentences to death are terms of imprisonment of 30 to 40 years and whipping of not less than 12 strokes. On 10 September 2024, Zaidi was resentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of whipping. At least 368 more people have been sentenced to whipping in the resentencing process.
Whipping was introduced to Malaysia in the nineteenth century by British colonial officials. While the abolition of the death penalty as the mandatory punishment in Malaysia is a welcome development, we remain deeply concerned that the only available alternative sentence to death is long term imprisonment and whipping. Corporal punishment is prohibited under the UN Convention against torture and customary international law as a form of cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, often amounting to torture. 175 states have ratified the UN Convention against torture, putting Malaysia in the minority of countries which have not. It represents extreme institutionalized violence with life threatening or lethal consequences.
The government has announced its intention to amend the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Evidence Act 1960. This is a key opportunity for the Malaysian government to abolish whipping. A comprehensive review of the life-threatening punishment of whipping should be undertaken in the same spirit of reform that underpinned the enactment of Acts 846 and 847.
Endorsed by:
HAYAT, Malaysia
Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat (LBHM), Indonesia
Reprieve
Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
