Is it true in Singapore that........

Mags

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I forgot where I heard about this, but is it true that in Singapore, your not allowed to spit gum on the ground? I heard thats why its so clean there.
 

nerdgineer

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I only visited once, but I was told then that it is illegal to possess gum in Singapore, and that littering in general is illegal. Fine in both cases is 1000 Singapore dollars, about $600 USD. Also illegal was not flushing public toilet after use, jaywalking, and a bunch of other behavior. Same fine for all.

I noted that when you walk around there in the evening, you saw very few police. Lots of video surveillance everywhere, though. While I don't want to live there, the people there seemed pretty pleased with themselves and the city was very clean and safe, so it works for them.
 

dc

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No gun, switchblade, gum, drugs, playboys/penthouse mags n lots of stuff in Singapore ..Infact lots of smuggler got hung for drug offences /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif It a nice place to be if u can tolerate suppressed democracy and a over zealous government. In exchange, you got a very clean and safe society. So all in all that almost cancel eachother out.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

AngelEyes

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[ QUOTE ]
Mags said:
Err, whats jaywalking?

[/ QUOTE ]

Crossing a street where you are not supposed to or against the red (pedestrian) light.
 

dandruff

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Oh boy here we go again….

Yes it is true.

But dont think its a despotic evil dictatorship or anything like that.

it comes down to choice. the laws may sound silly, but these laws are a manifestation of our (and indeed most other asian) culture of 'civility' and general 'good behaviour'.

u can critize our government for these silly rules but whatever they are doing, it seems to work. the economy is good, the city is clean, the streets are safe and even the poorest of the poor have homes etc.

i have spent a good number of my years living overseas in places such as london and melbourne, and i dont feel anymore 'repressed' back home.

its good to open one's horizons and see how things are done elsewhere. there is more than one way for a country to be run and society to function. this fact is hard for some to accept, and unfortunately attracts negative judgement and evangelist attention sometimes where it is not wanted /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Fyi the chewing gum ban came about because irresponsible people would stick their gum on the train doors in our underground metro, jamming them causing a hell lot of disruption to the whole network.
 

The_LED_Museum

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[ QUOTE ]
Mags said:
I forgot where I heard about this, but is it true that in Singapore, your not allowed to spit gum on the ground? I heard thats why its so clean there.

[/ QUOTE ]
Some number of years ago, a guy threw his used gum on the ground, and the sentence he received for that crime was that he was to be flogged (whipped very hard on his bare back) ten times. This was on the television news here in the United States, which is how I came to know about it.
 

nerdgineer

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I have to agree with Dandruff, the people there seemed pretty happy about things, and anybody could leave whenever they wanted - which for me is the acid test of any system of rule - so I really don't have any basis for criticism. I think it's got a lot to do with what you're used to.

Lots of their (I think) laws like flogging for taggers and minor crimes would I think be a GREAT improvement for us here. Also a real death penalty in CA would be much appreciated by our many victims (and worried potential victims) here.

Its just I wanna keep my fun toys too (and maybe get a mandatory CCW law passed here in CA... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif).
 

firefly99

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[ QUOTE ]
nerdgineer said:
littering in general is illegal.

[/ QUOTE ]
The punishment for littering is
"an official would give the litterbug, a roadsweeper jacket, cleaning equipments. Then supervise litterbug to clean up a dirty public place in full view of public (sometime reporters would be there to take photo)"
 

KevinL

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[ QUOTE ]
The_LED_Museum said:
[ QUOTE ]
Mags said:
I forgot where I heard about this, but is it true that in Singapore, your not allowed to spit gum on the ground? I heard thats why its so clean there.

[/ QUOTE ]
Some number of years ago, a guy threw his used gum on the ground, and the sentence he received for that crime was that he was to be flogged (whipped very hard on his bare back) ten times. This was on the television news here in the United States, which is how I came to know about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You sure you got the right place?

The only publicized case was that of Michael Fay over ten years ago, for severely vandalizing a number of cars.

I'd need to check with a lawyer but I'm pretty sure that only gum SALES or importation is illegal (this works because if you can't buy it or bring it in you can't consume it). Only fines are imposed, not even a jail term.

The proper term is "caning" and only delivered to seat of the backside, "flogging" is only used by other countries and delivered to the back. I believe that caning is always used in addition to a jail term (they'll jail you first before caning, but you can be jailed without the 'enhanced' caning sentence).


My only advice is do as nerdgineer did - visit and see for yourself - you might find that the reality may be different. I've visited a number of places (including CONUS after 9/11) that I've heard bad things about and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story is very different. Generally the same rule applies across the board - don't do anything stupid and they won't come after you. If I tossed some trash around on my travels whether in the US or Australia or the Far East and the authorities saw it, I'd fully expect to be given a hard time regardless..
 

NelsonFlashlites

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[ QUOTE ]
dc said:
No gun, switchblade, ...

[/ QUOTE ]

Switchblades are illegal here, too. At least in MN where I am.
 

bwaites

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Singapores laws sound pretty fair to me.

They seem to be reasonably enforced and there is little complaint of corruption. I'm glad to see a government that actually comes up with enforceable ideas to curb problems.

I haven't quite figured out the gum thing, though, because I would think it would cause problems in London and New York and Chicago, etc. if it was really an issue.

Bill
 

Nerd

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Well, I'm not sure if it's illegal to walk and eat, but many people have been doing that with no ill consequences (maybe except for their health)
 

Minjin

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[ QUOTE ]
Nerd said:
Well, I'm not sure if it's illegal to walk and eat, but many people have been doing that with no ill consequences (maybe except for their health)

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sure you know better than I...

But I recall being told when I went to Singapore that it was true and the reason being was one of public cleanliness. When you walk and eat, you tend to drop food. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

I definitely liked the currency (the coins) over there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mark
 

MichiganMan

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[ QUOTE ]
KevinL said:

The proper term is "caning" and only delivered to seat of the backside, "flogging" is only used by other countries and delivered to the back. I believe that caning is always used in addition to a jail term (they'll jail you first before caning, but you can be jailed without the 'enhanced' caning sentence).


[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Wikipedia
"Caning is still retained in Malaysia and Singapore, where fit male criminals under 50 years of age can be sentenced to a maximum of 24 strokes of the rotan (rattan) cane on the buttocks. The punishment is mandatory for over 40 offenses, mostly violent crimes, but also some immigration violations and acts of vandalism. The caning leaves permanent scars on the recipient. The punishment was famously applied to Michael P. Fay, an American student who had vandalised several automobiles in Singapore in 1994."

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh is that all? I thought they might flush pages of your holy book down the toilet or make you do naked pyramids. I hear THAT is torture...
 

Vortex

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I heard that they also regulate the total number of driver's liscences issued. If you are new driver, you go on some sort of waiting list untill someone turns in or loses their permit. I wonder how the traffic situation is over there?
 

sunspot

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Michael P. Fay got three strokes in the end /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif of all the political hoo-ha.
 
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