Dark side of sunny Singapore

This place still has some surprises left, it appears. Only yesterday I learned from a newspaper that Singapore doesn't use caning only in prisons as I had assumed until now but also in schools! In the news about criminal cases I have read that one part of the punishment quite often is caning -  a few strokes, I think maximum I have seen probably 6. Yesterday there was a letter in the paper about caning in a primary school. It happened in year 6, so the kid was about 11 years old. His offence - had chased and hit another boy who didn't want to give him his password for an online game. The caning took place in front of the whole class apparently with the consent of the offenders parents. To make matters worse the schools "discipline master" went into detail to describe the canes used in Jakarta prison stating that those were 4 times as thick as the one he was using at this school. Robert has talked to a former cane-master (turned taxi driver) who elaborated that most people who get this punishment choose the thinnest cane which is a mistake because it hurts a lot more than the thick one. I am almost speechless after this. I knew that the local schools value discipline highly and inquiring minds are not encouraged. The kids are loaded with mechanical homework and are not expected to ask too many questions. But this kind of physical punishment in the 21st century in a place like Singapore that looks so modern and western is quite unbelievable. And there they go wondering why their excellent school system doesn't produce creative spirits and sharp minds.