Corpun file 23788

Western Mail, Perth, Australia, 20 July 1912

Whipping as a fine art.

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The "Official Gazette" (writes Reuter's Tokio correspondent) contains an administrative order giving minute directions as to the method of application of corporal punishment in the Korean peninsula.

The culprit shall lie on his stomach, his hands stretched out above his head and fastened. Straps are to be passed round the body and round the knee joints and arms, with the clothes so arranged as to expose the hips. The executioner shall stand with his whip at arm's length, the tip protruding three inches over the edge of the prisoner's body. The executioner's left hand shall be on his left side, palm upwards, the right foot in advance, and bearing the weight of the body.

The stroke is to be delivered perpendicularly, and the skin is in no circumstances to be broken. The punishment is to take place one hour after a meal, and the prisoner, if he requires refreshment during the operations, shall be given a drink of fresh water.

The notice has provided the Tokio Press with an opportunity for displaying its wit. It is suggested that Mr. Yamamoto, Minister of Finance, might obtain something towards covering the deficit in the budget by making the spectacle a public one at a charge of ld. per head for spectators.