I came across this article and wonder what your opinion is?
Smacking is common punishment use in Asia and the crime rate over there does seems to be much less. The stories of wild intense and boldly disrespectful kids at school and at home (including juvenile crimes, teenage pregnancy is indeed a very rare thing in Asia I often wonder how is that).

Do you think there is a truth in this article below :-
Yes as a matter of fact I believe it does. Spanking, done properly, will train a child in how to function within society. We, as a society, have to have rules in order to live peacefully. If you do not teach your children to follow these rules we have chaos. Look closely at the past in this country (US) up to the sixties, spanking was a widely held practice, and the crime rates were a lot lower. But as corporal and capitol punishment became less popular the crime rates started going up. Look at the children in our schools today. The ones from two parent homes do better in most if not all catagories and the majority of them get punished as needed at home. These children are less likely to get in trouble as they reach adulthood. Granted spanking isn't the only reason for this but it is a big contributor.
Here are more opinions and answers from other WikiAnswers contributors:

• No. If it was it would have worked by now

• Yes, if applied young enough. Spankings (properly utilized) have for hundreds of years caused children to grow up with respect for their tender bottoms and a wish to avoid doing anything that would cause such pain to again be inflicted. And if that is the promised punishment for crime they are more likely to avoid it. More seriously, proper discipline from parents (even if spankings are avoided) does prevent crime. It keeps people from growing up with the attitude that they have to right to things they haven't earned and that the rules do not apply to them. But, I would say that for adults it only works if the corporal punishment is severe and public. So, not a good system.

• Yes SIR, pain retains; GOOD TO GO?

• The zest of the English-speaking peoples for physical punishment is quite amazing. The answer (above) on spanking confuses respect and fear. The only other countries that have such blind confidence in corporal punishment are some of the Islamic countries!

• It obviously does not work in the US, as parents have been spanking their children for centuries and the crime rate continues to increase.

• Why some adults believe it is acceptable to hit children (that's what spanking is) who cannot defend themselves, yet insist on having the legal right to have a person who strikes them arrested and/or sued is a mystery to me.

• I am completely against it. Not once during my childhood was i spanked or in any way physically disciplined and i have never been in trouble with the police or any other authority figure.

• Coporal punishment has been distorted over time. Just spanking if anything is good for kids. I know if my parents didn't spank me I would have ended up pretty unruly with my parents and lost respect for people in control of things. Although some families full-on beat their children this just builds up anger and hate and can cause crime. Again all this can be different for different people. But I think parents should be allowed to smack their kids. (smack not beat)