Dickson Tan (above) was sentenced in February last year to a total of nine months' jail and five strokes of the cane, but was caned eight times by mistake. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI

On Thursday, the family's lawyer Joseph Chen said three rounds of mediation talks with the Attorney-General Chambers, held between last July and November, had failed to reach an agreement.

Tan, 20, was sentenced in February last year to a total of nine months' jail and five strokes of the cane for abetting an illegal moneylender in harassing a debtor. But on March 29, he was caned eight times by mistake.

The Government has acknowledged the error and expressed regret, but at issue was how much compensation he should get.

Tan's family had indicated before the talks started that they would settle for $300,000 in compensation. But apparently there was a gap between the government's offer and what Tan's family was prepared to accept.

Mr Chen said it was 'not feasible' to accept what was being offered by the Atttorney-General's Chambers.

He stressed that the family does not want to handle this case 'in an antagonistic manner.'

Said Mr Chen:'There are no precedents for this. What we want is for the courts to decide whether this is just a personal injury claim, or the amount should reflect the court's view that a legal wrong had also been committed affecting the integrity of the system.'

He pointed out that a court hearing 'will provide an opportunity to introduce case law references, not just from the UK but from the American courts as well, to reflect the norms expected of a First World country.'

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.