Two Germans were arrested in Singapore on Friday for spray-painting graffiti on a metro train in the city-state, an offence punishable by flogging with a wooden cane.

Police said the unnamed pair, both 21, were extradited by neighbouring Malaysia and will be charged on Saturday for committing vandalism in a train depot and trespassing into a protected place.

The graffiti was reported on November 8, the Singapore Police Force said on its Facebook page.

Singapore is known for its tough stance on crime and retains the death penalty as punishment for serious offences.

The city-state’s vandalism laws became global news in 1994 when an American teenager, Michael Fay, was caned for damaging cars and public property despite appeals for clemency from the US government.

In 2010, Swiss expatriate Oliver Fricker was sentenced to seven months in jail and three strokes of the cane for vandalising a train at a depot.

The Straits Times newspaper said the two Germans were arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and had been leaving for Australia, where they were both believed to be working.

For trespassing into the depot, they face up to two years in jail and a fine of up to Sg$1,000 ($800).

For vandalism, they could face up to three years in jail or a fine of up to Sg$2,000, and between three and eight strokes of a rattan cane — a punishment dating back to British colonial rule.