Military caning: In the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), a subordinate military court, or the officer in charge of the SAF Detention Barracks, may sentence a serviceman to a maximum of 24 strokes of the cane (10 strokes if the serviceman is below 16)[69] for committing certain military offences or for committing aggravated offences while being detained in the Detention Barracks.[70] In all cases, the caning sentence must be approved by the Armed Forces Council before it can be administered.[71] The minimum age for a serviceman to be sentenced to caning is 16 (now 16.5 de facto, since entry into the SAF is restricted to those above that age).[72] This form of caning is mainly used on recalcitrant teenage conscripts serving full-time National Service in the SAF.[73] Military caning is less severe than its civilian counterpart, and is designed not to cause undue bleeding and leave permanent scars. The offender must be certified by a medical officer to be in a fit condition of health to undergo the punishment[74] and shall wear "protective clothing" as prescribed.[75] The punishment is administered on the buttocks, which are covered by a "protective guard" to prevent cuts.[72] The cane used is no more than 6.35 mm in diameter (about half the thickness of the prison/judicial cane).[76] During the punishment, the offender is secured in a bent-over position to a trestle similar to the one used for judicial/prison canings.