Bush Calls Caning ‘Brutal’ but Urges Respect for Law : Singapore: He does not publicly appeal for leniency for American youth sentenced to beating.

Former President George Bush said Friday that he considers caning brutal and would not advocate it for his country, but stopped well short of a public appeal for Singapore to reconsider caning an American teen-age vandal.

What Bush may have said behind the scenes in meetings with government leaders was not clear.

A Singapore court last month sentenced 18-year-old Michael Fay to six strokes of the cane, four months in jail and a fine of $2,000 for spray-painting cars and other offenses. A high court appeal of the sentence was rejected, and Fay’s final option is an appeal to Singapore President Ong Teng Cheong.

In his major speech here, a luncheon talk to 800 government leaders, diplomats and selected customers of Citibank, his visit’s sponsor, Bush offered general praise for Singapore, saying: “You have much to teach us.”

He did not raise the caning issue, and no questions about it were asked.

Earlier in the day, however, in a talk to a much smaller group of students, Bush said: “Caning is brutal.”

He said some people would say the death penalty is even more brutal, though he does support that for serious offenses such as drug trafficking.

“You follow and respect the law of the country but that does not mean you have to agree with everything,” Bush said.

He also told the students: “If one in public life wants to influence the government it is almost in every instance . . . better, more effective to do that with a government official through quiet diplomacy.”

On Thursday, President Clinton told a news conference: “If he (Bush) decides to say something supportive of the absence of caning, I would certainly be grateful.”

The New York Times on Wednesday urged major U.S. companies with Singapore subsidiaries to press Ong to cancel the sentence.

But David Williams, assistant vice president and Asia Pacific zone manager of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, said it should not be the responsibility of U.S. businesses to speak out against the caning.