British Tourist Faces Possible Caning in Singapore

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Published November 17, 2014

A U.K. tourist faces a possible punishment of being lashed with a cane in Singapore after being charged by police with grabbing a woman's butt in a nightclub earlier this year, reports The Straits Times.

Austin Cowburn, 34, originally from Manchester, was on vacation from Qatar where he works as a recruitment consultant for NES Global when the alleged incident occurred. He faces a possible lashing across his bare buttocks with a rattan cane, a fine, a maximum two-year-sentence in jail, or a combination of the penalties.

Authorities have reportedly seized his passport and he is currently staying in a hostel until his hearing on Wednesday.

In 1994, a 19-year-old American, Michael Fay, was caned in Singapore for vandalism, despite pleas for clemency from then-President Bill Clinton.

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