I read with dismay that Canadian national David James Roach, who robbed a Standard Chartered Bank branch here in 2016, will not be caned due to an assurance given to secure his extradition (Canadian man who robbed StanChart bank spared caning, July 26).

He was sentenced to five years' jail and six strokes of the cane.

I accept that it is paramount for Singapore to adhere to its part of the bargain, but it would only be fair for his punishment of six strokes of the cane to be substituted with an appropriate equivalent, rather than simply being erased from his sentence.

For instance, the courts could substitute each stroke of the cane with an additional six months' jail.

Otherwise, this makes a mockery of our local laws and regulations.

The other glaring issue in this case is our lack of an extradition deal with Thailand, a close and important neighbour. It would make sense for Singapore to get down to signing extradition deals with countries in the region in preparation for future incidents like this one.

Kevin Sng