It is time for a public discussion on whether to re-introduce corporal punishment for violent crimes, the head of the Fiji Corrections Service says.
The Commissioner, Commander Francis Kean, told FBC News it was a sensitive issue which needed extensive discourse.
Commander Kean says he is fully aware of the human rights protections in the constitution and says if corporal punishment is not accepted, the idea would be dropped.
This comes amid efforts by the police to curb police brutality and concerns about the overcrowding of prisons.
It coincides with a trial underway in Lautoka of eight suspended Fiji policemen and a military officer charged with rape after a civilian, Vilikesa Soko, died following police detention.