The father probably thinks shoplifting is as petty of a crime in China as it is here. At least where I live, if the police are called out for a shoplifting suspect, they just write them a ticket and go away.
Years ago a middle-east family opened up a convenient store near my home. I walked in when the police were there for a guy who stole a couple packs of cigarettes. I heard the cop say "If he comes back, give us a call and we'll throw him out of here."
The clerk and I began to discuss the theft, and he said his grandmother wrote him to find out how he's doing in the US. So he sent her our local paper. She wrote back with great concern. She claimed that we have more theft in our Cleveland suburb in one week than the entire middle-east has in a year.
He concurred. Where he came from, if you got caught stealing anything, they cut of your hand. If you steal again, they cut off your other hand. There is no third time. That's why there is little theft over there and we spend tens of millions of dollars on theft.
In all honesty, this is one of the reasons the M.E have many hellholes. I wonder who would volunteer to cut off the hand of a teenager or young adult who made a stupid mistake? The 10 year sentence they were facing was absurd and there are many absurd sentences in my opinion even in the West. At least there is a focus on rehabilitation in most cases, and the Christian virtue of forgiveness where warranted.
These excessive rules are usually in place in nations in which the powerful reign over their citizens, deny them upward mobility and thus they know their kids would never have their hand cut off. If they were caught they would simply be given a pass, if it's the rest of the society they oppress, cut off their hand!
A messed up and vile system of "justice" if you ask me. It's no wonder there are only a few countries there worth visiting. It should be no surprise to anyone why America is the country people all around the world flock to.
They cut off very few hands in the middle-east from what I was told. That's because nobody would think of stealing anything there. The clerk told me their markets are mostly outside. They have tables, chairs and umbrellas for people to rest while shopping. He said if a woman were to lay her purse on a table and walk away, not only would nobody go near that table, but people walking would cross the street to be nowhere near it, and it would likely be sitting on that table the next day.
What a terrible way to live, huh?
In my opinion yes, it is a terrible way to live. I'm all for law and justice, I'm not into morbid punishment for minor indiscretions. Furthermore, there's not much room for leeway is there? A single mother stealing a loaf of bread gets her hand cut off just as a multi-millionaire who steals millions from retired citizens. Also, a man can cheat on his wife but if she does it, or is accused of it, she can be stoned to death. Worse treatment than a dog. If you have the time and the emotional control, watch the movie The Stoning of Soraya M on Netflix based on a true story. I dare you not to want to have an angry response that such an injustice brings.
Ask yourself this, if these countries are so great and living in such utopia, have you reserved your plane ticket to take the family over on a vacation there? I kid you not, you could give me an all expense paid trip to some places in the world and I would not go. That's just my personal opinion, and it's not because I wouldn't like the average person, it's my distrust of their system and the abuses that are found within them.
I would not go there and preach how they should live, it's their society. It is without question, excessively abusive to women and those who aren't politically connected. I know many who have moved to Canada from these countries who have told me how happy they are to have left those societies. There are millions more like them who want to be free. Far right "conservatism" is just as bad as far left, alt-left communism.
I never said adopt their government, their entire way of life, or their value system. My point was only that a proper deterrent works every time it's tried.
There was a story many years ago about an American exchange student that went to Singapore. He was a yuppy with the upbringing of any spoiled kid. The school taught him how Singapore's penalty system and outlook on crime was way different than ours. But he tried to challenge it anyway.
He and another guy took some spray paint, damaged some cars, and were eventually caught. He was sentenced to seven whacks with the cane and jail time.
Caning in Singapore is (or was) different than any place around the world. What they do is strip you naked, tie you down bent over, take a four foot cane soaked in oil, and have a martial arts expert come in and hit you as hard as he can.
The pain lasts for days. The reason they strip you naked is because the pain is so intense, many crap themselves on the first strike. Many pass out from the pain during the process, but even if you are able to stay awake, they drag you back to your cell because you are incapable of walking. The scars left are for life and the only way to remove them is through plastic surgery.
I forget who the President was now, but they tried to get the student back before the penalty was carried out. The Singapore government responded that in interest of relations with the United Staes, all they could do is drop the penalty from seven strikes with the cane to five, but no more. They also said their penal system is why they never have a problem with cars being spray painted while in the US, punks are spray painting police cars every week.
