A joint statement by the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Home Affairs last night also revealed that the prisoner's family has asked for $3 million in compensation, which the Government has rejected.

This was how the mistake came about: On Feb 28, Dickson Tan Yong Wen, 20, was sentenced to a total of nine months in jail and five strokes of the cane for two offences involving abetting an illegal moneylender to harass a debtor.

But a court clerk added three more strokes to the punishment when he was preparing the paperwork for Tan's commitment to prison. The clerk has since resigned.

The caning was carried out on March 29 and the authorities said prisons officers observed all procedures relating to the administration of the caning, including verifying with Tan that the number of strokes of caning was correct.

The statement said that Tan did not object to the number of strokes he would be receiving on three separate occasions: on March 1 when he was being interviewed by a prison officer during admission to Admiralty West Prison; on March 29 when he acknowledged on an official document that the eight strokes to be meted out to him was correct; and shortly before his caning, when he confirmed to prison officers and a medical officer that the number of strokes was correct.

When contacted yesterday, Tan's mother, Madam Ho Gee Lin, 52, contradicted the statement and said that her son had alerted two prison officers to the error prior to the caning.

'My son is prepared to go for a lie detector test,' she said.

The housewife said the officers had dismissed her son's protests and he decided to drop the matter because he was afraid of being punished for insubordination.

To ensure there is no repeat of such an incident, court officers now have to follow checklists when doing the paperwork for commitment to prison.

Madam Ho said she had initially asked for $150,000 in compensation but raised it to $300,000 because she felt that the authorities were not taking her complaint seriously.

She said her lawyer, Mr Joseph Chen, then advised her to seek $3 million in compensation based on legal principles in the United States and Britain where the courts award punitive damages.

Tan is now on home detention until next month.

dawntan@sph.com.sg

vijayan@sph.com.sg