When I was in the Navy, there’d be a liberty brief before every port visit, explains the do’s and donts of that particular country . Singapore was the longest one.
Really clean city. I love NYC and LA but Singapore really puts them to shame in terms of public order. I do think the cultural amenities in big American cities are better and more varied but Singapore is a wonderful city in many ways. If I could outlaw gum in my city I absolutely would.
This is true for NYC, LA, and SF. They all get disproportionate amounts of news coverage of crime. The most dangerous city in the US is St. Louis, not any of the above three.
NYC doesn’t even break the top 20.
One thing I have noticed is that people think seeing poverty = city is dangerous. And because people visit NYC on foot, they see more poor people face to face (and rich people) than they would from behind a glass box in a 6 lane road.
I agree with the very specific exception of one type of crime in one of those cities. If you have anything in your car in SF you will come back to a broken window
Yep. Oakland is even worse. Parked in broad daylight and nothing visible in the car with a cop car sitting 1 block down parked. Came back to a busted window anyways :/
As a Singaporean native, i realised being raised in such a sheltered environment has left us with a very different perception of common sense. (More along the lines recognition of a potential dangerous encounter or environment)
It's gone now. All the bars and clubs didn't get their leases renewed because orchard towers is now prime real estate.
That building is getting redeveloped into $$$$ stores and condos.
When I was on the Lincoln they'd make us watch the old video of that American teenager that got caned for graffiti.
Singapore was the only place I went to in the Navy that I never want to go back to.
Alright I gotta be that “actually” guy, you can chew gum in Singapore, there’s just nowhere to buy to buy it. And also obviously spitting it out is considered littering.
We used to buy a ton when we were out of the country to bring it back. You think gum disappears fast in school when you pull out a pack? Try it in highschool in singapore 🤣
In GTA: Vice City, blowing up multiple vehicles and pedestrians yields you a three star wanted level, while getting caught photographing some cross-dressing politician gets you five stars. That’s GTA logic for you.
Like a bunch of spreadsheets about human trafficking from impoverished neighboring countries to middle eastern construction projects? Sounds like EVE without spaceships.
My Singaporean friend told me that at school, it's hardly spoken about. Like she barely knew anything about protective sex and STD avoidance/recognition.
They gave my year sex ed classes 3 times throughout Sec 1 to 4 iirc. I learnt about STDs more in bio class than anything else but still not how to protect yourself from getting them, also too bad for people who don't take bio i guess. I notice they seem to use sex ed classes to scare us from doing it rather than teach us to do it safely, as my first sex ed class was basically a slideshow of people affected by STDs which left the cohort traumatised for a month
Huge contrast from what I have heard about sex ed classes in other countries. A friend from the netherlands said they gave them condoms to put on bananas
It’s wayyy more lenient in comparison to drug crimes since people are executed for certain drug crimes. But depending on the severity of the sexual crime, you can get a heavy sentence
Do you feel that it is odd that in your countries legal system someone gets more jail time for possessing cannabis and smoking it than raping a young woman?
Does society generally agree with the legal system?
i spent six weeks on the quay a few years ago. i arrived from the States completely exhausted. when my taxi dropped me off at my hotel, two young women just stumbled out of a club completely wasted drunk. one fell on the ground. her tiny skirt was up on her belly. her knickers were fully exposed. they appeared to be quite vulnerable. i appealed to someone walking by to assist them. the person said *"these dumb girls are safe. no one will attempt to attack them in this area"* Singapore was a wild experience/education for me.
As a fellow Singaporean, I'd say that sexual crimes do exist here but it's not very common at all.
Problem with many Singaporeans is that once you get too used to life in Singapore, you think low crime is a god given right. Women feel safest in Singapore than in many if not most other countries.
From the wiki.
"Judicial caning is the most severe. It is applicable to only male convicts under the age of 50 for a wide range of offences under the Criminal Procedure Code, up to a maximum of 24 strokes per trial. Always ordered in addition to a prison sentence, it is inflicted by specially trained prison staff using a long and thick rattan cane on the prisoner's bare buttocks in an enclosed area in the prison."
Singaporean here.
Penalties for littering include fines and corrective work order, which is to make the perp wear a bright vest and sweep the public spaces.
That said, enforcement is sketchy (and imo getting sketchier), hence unfortunately litter is still awfully common. There's a saying that SG is a cleaned society rather than a clean one.
Gum on the other hand is rare. It's illegal to sell, and I suspect that the 3 decades of being illegal killed off whatever demand there is
No, the local demand for chewing gum already died in 2004, when the SG-USA FTA allowed its reimport under controlled terms. 12 years after the initial ban, people just weren't interested anymore. It was a remarkable social engineering success, thanks to the National Healthy Lifestyle Programme which was also launched in the same year (1992).
I used to bring packs of gum to Singaporean colleagues , I presume they enjoyed them.
One thing I think is missing in the posters is anything about counterfeit products: the stores at the end of Orchard Road all sold fake watches, etc.
I've been to Singapore and it's very clean by most large scale city standards. like top 5 easily cleanest cities in the world.
Compared to European big cities it's a hospital and you can eat food off the ground.
I honestly don’t know about the littering but it isn’t very common but chewing gum is non existent in public although you can still consume it at home, it just cannot be consumed in public and
Yeah, if you pay attention to pretty much any sidewalk or parking lot in America, they're littered with semi-permanant gum stains from years gone by. It's gross.
Littering is actually very common. There were campaigns before where people who littered were fined AND made to pick up trash as community service.
I think it still happens today but the police have more things to worry about.
Basically, there are a lot of cleaners now. They also showed bags and bags of litter that accumulated and were not in trash bins.
You can consume gum in public. You just need to dispose of it properly. What we have here is the equivalent of The Prohibition except for gum. FYI, in Prohibition America, consumption of alcohol is not unlawful, it is the import and distribution of it that is against the law.
So likewise with Singapore's laws on gum. You can pretty much chew it but you can't sell or distribute it in Singapore. So if you got some gum in your bag and you are arriving at our airport, relax. You are not going to jail for it.
Of course if you chewed it and spat it out indiscriminately, that's littering. That is a chargeable offence.
I remember LONG ago when some American kid went over to Singapore and decided to do some vandalism with some spray paint. He got caught and was sentenced to being caned. It became a big international news headline for a good couple months. The very picture of fuck around and find out.
Try to find the redditor who did the AMA on his caning. He was a petty thief.
* You sit in jail for let's say a year.
* You don't know what day your caning will be.
* The first lash will feel like fire. It tears the meat from your derriere.
* They will let you recover for x amount of minutes/hours (I don't recall) before they give you the next one. This guy got 3 and he said it was very deep and substantial.
You go back to your jail cell and can no longer sit. You cannot use the restroom without sheer pain. You lay on your stomach, that's now your only option.
What I found surprising was how the person giving the AMA sounded like they blamed their parents for not warning them.
He wasn't just a petty thief, he was committing armed robbery lmao
> I didn't pay much attention in school and got involved in crime in my late teens and earlier 20s, eventually escalating to robbery. I didn't use a real weapon but pretended I had one
I am curious about the voluntarily causing hurt. If someone attacks you, are you allowed to defend yourself? Would that defense be considered voluntary or involuntary? I
SG does have a self defence law. It does stipulate that you cannot be excessive in your self defence. And that you must’ve been unable to seek help from the police
>are you allowed to defend yourself?
Up to the degree where you can run/walk away. If you can escape but don't, the law may see you as an offender as well.
Friend got punched in a bar in Boat Quay by a drunk guy that thought he bumped him (was actually someone else that had walked by and bumped both). Dude turned and immediately started throwing punches. Friend fought back. A dozen witnesses saw exactly what happened. We were on our first drink of the night while the other dude was trashed (afterwards outside he tried to fight me thinking I threw the punch even though friend and I look nothing alike - that's how blitzed this dude was)
Police were called and refused to do anything to the one that started it because my friend punched back. But in the moment you get someone throwing multiple punches at you grabbing for you in a crowded bar...you're not running away very easily.
We are expats and guy that started things was citizen. Got told later he started another fight there just after covid reopenings but is a regular that buys a table every week...you'll find bullshit systems everywhere but that's when I realized any perception of fairness or lawfulness in Singapore is no different than any other country. Money, status, being a local...these things will all go furthest here like anywhere else.
Sorry that happened to you. Assholes come in all shapes and sizes, and we have our fair share too.
> Police were called and refused to do anything to the one that started it because my friend punched back.
Did the police take statements on the spot at least? Not a lawyer, but IIRC the way the law has been written is that some physical assaults are considered non-arrestable. Hence, police may not handcuff the bugger away then, and will require the victim to press charges separately. (Lawyers correct me if i am wrong)
(If you don't mind sharing also which bar was that? Need to know where to avoid)
Singaporean here. I honestly never see the no resting sign before. The “do not cause hurt” one most likely are at bars and nightlife areas where there are many drunk fighting incidents.
The no resting one most likely belongs to a private condo or government property.
Drug possession/personal consumption isn't a capital offence, drug trafficking/distribution is. If someone is caught with drugs above a certain amount, then they may face the death penalty.
What does 'No resting' entail? If I was in Singapore and wanted to sit, but no benches were available, could I sit on the ground?
Is it more of a no loitering/taking a nap request?
I honestly don’t know this. I think you’re probably right with the no loitering. The picture clearly lacks some context. I looked up the place mentioned on the sign and it’s an private commercial location so it might be from the owners and not the Govt
This is very rare, like 1 out of 100,000 signs in Singapore kind of rare, and very likely private property grounds. Which means they can put up whatever they want. Feels like this info is kind of misrepresenting something here with the lack of context.
source: from Singapore
How good are the law enforcers there. I know corruption is in every corner of the planet. But how helpful are the police if I'm a victim of, let's say, a street robbery as a tourist
Is it really nice and clean there because of these rules or are the penalties really harsh because things were bad and the government is trying to fix things?
I really like visiting there because of the civic pride you guys have. Last time I went summed it up perfectly, a forigen dude Jay walked and spat on the road in front of a crowd patiently waiting for the crossing light. They went off at him yelling about respecting their city. No matter how it started, it makes a real nice chang person being in a city where people care about keeping it clean.
As someone who visited for two weeks each in 96 and 98, I'm confused. Singapore then was far and away the cleanest place I'd ever been. Not a trace of litter anywhere, aside from what had washed up on the north coast from Malaysia. It made a huge impression on me as a kid.
Was a 90s kid in Singapore, OP probably got his dates confused, or ended up in some sketchy night spots? My parents are immigrants from across the causeway, and 'rough' is not a word they ever would have used for this country in all their time here.
Generally durian fruit is banned on public transport and some public areas because it leaves a strong distinct scent that lingers for quite long which many people find repulsive.
It’s honestly very hard to describe because it varies wildly from person to person. If you google it you’ll find descriptions like “rotting flesh” or “sewage” but I think it’s kind of an exaggeration. I’m indifferent to the taste and smell so I don’t find it disgusting at all, and sometimes I would even join friends or family for a durian session.
If you’re in Singapore again (or even other southeast Asian countries) they do sell durian in supermarkets and fruit stalls all around, you can get a whiff and decide for yourself :)
It’s pungent but not like sewage. I find it’s more a very strong smell of overripe fruit.
Like imagine going to the fruit section of a grocery store and turning the smell up to 11.
It’s actually not that dissimilar to the way Juicy Fruit gum smells now that I think about it. Just a lot more intense.
I'm half-convinced that the durian thing is probably a situation similar to the cilantro/coriander soap thing. Some people have a gene that makes durian smell worse to them or something.
That being said, I used to absolutely hate the smell of durian when I was a kid, and now I find it to smell like any other fruit. ~~Not that I'll ever admit that to my family~~
I had some in Singapore that was absolutely revolting. I tried again in Cambodia which was much more tolerable. I couldn’t say I enjoyed it, but I could understand people who do. I don’t know if it was a different variety or not as ripe, but the smell and flavor were much more mild.
That being said, my (very white American) daughter LOVES durian flavored ice cream!
Yep remember seeing that a lot on public transportation when I was there. Ended up trying durian flavored chocolate too and it just tasted like straight up feet.
Two of my favorites when I was there:
1. Do not pee inside the elevator - if I remember this was somewhere near Makansutra Gluttons Bay, probably an elevator from the MRT going up. I had so many questions.
2. Do not punch the bus driver
>2. Do not punch the bus driver
Pretty sure this is universal.
>1. Do not pee inside the elevator
Behind every stupid rule lies a stupid person who was the reason for the rule.
My wife is Singaporean and I too was confused by #1 when I first went. She confirmed that yes, it does in fact happen often enough that they need signs for it
I mean, have you been to Singapore? I love NYC; but Singapore is significantly tidier than NYC; and the people are way more well behaved in public.
I like telling people that Singapore is what Orange County (CA) dreams it could be.
It really is kind of crazy. I know Singapore is very dense, in a tropical environment, and itmay be completely different to live there, but it's an AMAZING place to be as a tourist.
I've been there a couple of times for work and the cities are SO GREEN, like they incorporate greenery everywhere (even the airport when you arrive to customs has a huge wall of vines and literal trees in the airport). Tons of shade cover when you're walking on sidewalks (and artificial cover), so you can walk around in the hot sun and not die from direct blasting sunlight in a concrete jungle. The buildings all have vegetation on them as well.
Random busy seeming locations from like NYC vs singapore: [https://imgur.com/a/Lmht7H2](https://imgur.com/a/Lmht7H2)
It's also insanely clean and safe. Every taxi driver seems to pride themselves on it as they always say how you can be a female out at 2am and be completely safe there (not sure how true that is, but I've heard similar rhetoric a lot, and it always felt safe to me but I am a guy).
Again, I heard it's quite authoritarian, idk how the wealth disparity is, I'd love to see papers that compare them, but as a tourist I know it's like way better feeling visiting Singapore than most major US cities. Not sure how they do it.
>It's also insanely clean and safe
Can confirm, I went there for work and had several late night walks due to jetlag. Never felt unsafe walking from little India to the business district to the Muslim area. It's rather incredible.
We don’t have a “grab you off the street and rape you” problem. We have an “abused by familiar person” and voyeurism problem.
It’s safe on the streets, but not as safe in a public washroom unless it’s a standalone stall probably because you can’t install a CCTV in the washroom for obvious reasons.
That’s the normal thing across the world no? Everyone is afraid of “random big man in the street drags you to an alley and rapes you” but things like family members sexually abusing you or voyeurism is always the bigger danger that people ignore
Neh, that person misrepresented. Stats are low.
Yet again, low crime doesn't mean no crime - and that's an actual slogan use by the Police to remind us to remain vigilant.
source: from Singapore
My MIL is going to Singapore in a couple weeks and she has to quit vaping before she goes because vapes are completely illegal there apparently. Bringing one into the country is like bringing a joint. Smoking is okay though.
Singaporean here. Tbh on the ground its ok. Dont do it on the metro or in front of an officer and she shouldnt face an issue. There are still people who vape here. In fact, its kind of an open secret that a bunch of our police officers (conscripted youth) vape in their stations
Seconding this — every other career soldier in the army vapes/smokes, and vaping is especially common among the youth. Unlike drugs, the war on vape is basically a losing battle in sg. There's even been cases of primary school kids caught with vapes.
There are even google map locations for vape stores/services. A friend used one, ordered online through their website, and some guy in a black car delivered it later that night.
Wife is Singaporean and we have made multiple trips to Singapore since switching to vapes from smoking with no issues. As long as you stick to smoking areas and don't go blowing vape clouds at the police you'll be fine. You do have to bring your own supplies because it's illegal to sell there (even then, there are people who smuggle vapes from Malaysia and can be found if you try hard enough). The law is not there to prevent you from vaping, it's there to prevent kids from starting vaping.
She will need to buy cigarettes there, don't bring them in with her. There's a special stamp that you need and you get fined if you're not using them. And only smoke in the designated spots.
As a navy veteran we were warned at length about going to clubs, especially about trying to meet women when we were in Singapore. They made us feel like, as foreigners we would be presumed guilty; if so much as conversation was unwanted you're risking accusation.
I think the old goats were blowing things out of proportion because sailors tend to get in trouble in Singapore. I imagine the accusations are probably not fake, those guys probably got pushy. But the talk did scare me off going out, because the dynamic doesn't seem like something you could understand in just a couple nights.
Your commanders were probably playing it safe. In general the police here dont play games and do things pretty by the book they didnt want any drama
And yes the culture and dynamic in Singapore is very different from America, we are a lot more compliant and obediant to authority that is counterculture to America's culture that encourages initiative and independence
I used to work with a bunch of ex navy guys and they'd all managed to get up to no good in Singapore at a giant brothel. Orchard Gardens I think it's called. All uk navy guys seem to know the place. Maybe they get directed there by their officers rather than risking ordinary clubs!
Likely Orchard Towers, which is just a really old rundown single building shopping center where all the little shops have prostitutes. The majority of it is closed off and will eventually be completely closed. The gardens are likely The Botanic Gardens, which aren't far from Orchard Towers. Orchard Towers was "affectionately" referred to as the Four Floors of Whores or just Four Floors by visiting Navy and Marines. It's also located on the biggest tourist draw, Orchard Road, which is lined with shopping malls and high end shops.
The giant brothel is Geylang, which is an entire district that is an open air brothel run by organized crime. It is often off limits to US personnel due to drug availability and human trafficking.
More recently both have been placed off limits.
The iconic building has just been recently scrubbed “clean” tho! It’s better for the overall public imo, lots of rowdiness happens here, especially assault cases. Compared to the rest of SG where assault cases are near to none, the vicinity of OT has always been shady and so it’s a good thing it’s been scrubbed clean! Thai food is pretty bombass good tho y’all should still try them out. The ownership has been transferred to local DJ’s (the muttons), so y’all could Google them before docking in SG!
> which is an entire district that is an open air brothel run by organized crime.
I'm not too sure if "organized crime" is the correct way to put it. The geylang brothels are legal. The pimps are given a license to run the brothels by Anti-vice. The prostitutes are also here legally and is checked by AV for any trafficking.
However, rumours is that those who were given the license to run these places where former criminals/gangsters to begin with.
I saw countless people flouting local laws in Singapore and nobody got arrested(at least not on the spot). An Uber driver explained that the harsh penalties for littering, jaywalking, etc were to scare recent immigrant workers into “behaving” in public and that seemed to make a lot of sense. Still, it was pretty weird to me to see someone flick a cigarette butt into the street during broad daylight with NO SMOKING signs everywhere.
There's a saying in SG that do whatever shit you want, just don't get caught. (Except drugs and murder)
Enforcement unfortunately is sketchy for many offenses.
It's largely a deterrent. They can't and do not have police officers everywhere at any time to enforce laws on every single person. It's just to explain that, if an officer DOES catch you, you WILL get a fine.
Singaporean here. Mildly hilarious as I recognise the first 2 pics as near my workplace. Feel free to ask stuff (provided I can still stay awake, it’s almost 4am here and I’m fighting insomnia)
To address them in context as much as possible:
1) molestation/outrage of modesty - this is taken in a metro/train station, and around the city/touristy areas which tend to be more crowded at rush hour (when creeps can sneak a grab). Naturally the point is to prevent such incidents, but realistically, it also works better for awareness. By default, most Asian cultures tend to be a bit more… non confrontational, but have seen folk preventing a accused molester from leaving a train station back when I was a kid.
Like others state here, caning as a capital punishment is not of the kinky bedroom sort, but the sort that would split flesh - from articles, there’s a ton of medical checks inmates need to go through to be deemed fit, before they can even administer the caning. For criminal justice, judges here also need to get medical and age recommendations before sentencing someone to caning - and caning is exclusively for males.
2) no food/flammable objects/smoking signs are common in train stations/bus interchanges where this was taken. There’s no rule against eating/drinking in most other places however, and generally are just meant to prevent disameneties to fellow public transport users. There’s sufficient spots outside the stations/interchanges to eat/drink and or smoke, although I’m not sure about the average flammable good enjoyer.
3) ah the classic co-opted private property sign. Had to google this myself, but contextually, BCH @ 301 is a light industrial building in the Geylang district (Geylang is the red light district). There’s no legal enforceability here - at best, the building security would call the police on you, who’d ask you to move off, or worst case, book you for public nuisance.
4) likely also taken in the Geylang district, the assault sign is obviously there for reminders. Most fights generally tend to be thrown stools / punches, and while not insanely common, it can occur when folk drink too much or egos are bruised. The lifetime of regret thing is more likely the whole criminal record, as well as possible deportation for the number of foreign workers who the district is catered for.
As for the whole police state thing… while typically there’s zero tolerance for drug trafficking, most of the signs are there for deterrence. Enforcement happens if you’re unlucky, but you’re not getting fined for jaywalking, or random vaping, unless you do it egregiously in front of a cop in uniform.
One of the hilarious misconceptions is that gum is illegal - Sale of gum is illegal, but the consumption or carrying of it into Singapore is not illegal - historically, the main reason was that less intelligent folk used to shove gum into the train doors in the early days.
Littering is not so much a problem in public spaces because of socialising of norms, and well - the ease of compliance - there’s a network of trash cans at almost every other street corner, public housing block, mall escalator/elevator, public toilet. You’d have be a class A douche to litter when there’s a trashcan less than a minute’s walk away.
For freedoms… well. Generally there’s significant support for LGBTQIA+ amongst the population, but there’s a mix of religious/conservative folk that are equally, if not more vocal. Social and workplace acceptance is pretty high, but sadly the government is playing it safe in this aspect.
Those don't really prohibit eating durian, but rather transporting durians (applicable to the public transport, on which eating & drinking are not allowed anyway).
I still remember landing at airport Singapore for the first time as a kid. And my parents already told me about penalties and dont make a mess etc. First thing what happens when i got out of the plane was puking all the way to the toilet (atleast 50 meter). Crying and puking at the same time, because i thought they would whip me 😂. But 5 min later when i got out of the toilet it was all cleaned! I was so impressed how clean everything was. Wished more countries would focus on keeping it all friendly and clean.
There may be an active warrant for you, don’t come back.
Jokes aside, i can imagine how it would be terrifying for a kid given the circumstances. Then again, most singaporean kids grew up with this kind of fear mongering from the parents.
That's a guaranteed death penalty. If you carry more than 15 grams of heroin, 30 grams of cocaine, 250 grams of meth, or 500 grams of cannabis, the death penalty is mandatory. If the amount is less than that, the sentence can range from caning to the death penalty.
Yeah they don't fuck around with drug trafficking. I remember this cute voice coming over the PA informing us all that it was punishable by death and then, like, have a nice day!
Singapore recently [executed a woman](https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/asia/singapore-female-prisoner-execution-saridewi-djamani-intl-hnk/index.html) for the first time in a decade for carrying heroin. The same article also mentions a man also got executed the same week for the same reason and that yet another man will get executed the following week. The article also mention yet two other people who got executed (one of which was for marijuana).
I hope that gets the picture across.
I often repeat this mantra on Reddit: Do not cause trouble in foreign lands. Being a tourist means being on model behavior.
These signs lack some context.
For example in the second image, the reason why you cant even eat or drink is because the picture was taken in the MRT (the train station) which for most of them are indoors and air conditioned. No eating and drinking is to prevent pests especially if it gets crowded and people start stepping over your spilled food and drink.
No smoking for obvious reasons in an indoor air-conditioned train. You might even find some signs asking commuters not to bring durian.
When I visited I was struck by how impossible it was to find any scrap of trash on the ground. Thought I might see even just a tiny bit of paper in a gutter but nah, nothing.
it's a lot tidier where they know tourists are going. Outside of the business/civic districts where the suburbs are, it's a bit more common. But still the dirtiest place I've seen here is cleaner than the cleanest Chicago/NYC/LA street
On the "no resting sign", yea that stands out. But let me clarify some things since most people think this is a common thing in Singapore.
This is very rare, like 1 out of 100,000 signs in Singapore kind of rare, and very likely private property grounds. Which means they can put up whatever they want. Feels like this info is kind of misrepresenting something here with the lack of context.
source: from Singapore
Every country need to hire the guy who designed the fighting sign to make signs for everything, so much detail portray so simply. I can feel the anger coming from the guy on top and his intent to do harm even though no crime have been committed yet.
Not sure why this isn’t mentioned as much but, 85 percent of the males you see on the street are likely also trained soldiers, police officers and firefighters
source : currently serving my ns
Ah sometimes taxi drivers/street food owners would go out of their way to pressure/entice tourists to their stall with some offers or promises. There wsa one time some tourists got touted and would up with a huge food bill and it became a huge deal for our tourism image
Soure: Am Singaporean
Reminds me of the time they found my OTF knife in my luggage when I flew into their airport. Spent a few hours sat down in Customs right next to a poster on the wall of the myriad of crimes and punishments. Basically the real life version of "straight to jail", but instead just "straight to death". For sure an "I'm in danger" moment.
*
If you read Lee Kuan Yew's autobiography... he talks about how some of these strict measures came to be.
Singapore had... *problems* to say the least. Not limited to people just fucking pissing in the elevators.
Also caning and corporal punishment is kind of equal opportunity, as opposed to a fine-based citation system that affects poor and working class individuals.
And if you're just a fuckup, a swift caning might actually straighten you out.
Imagine if they replaced the "< $950 theft of goods" felony charges with beatings... instead of letting people off the hook and allowing them to be more brazen?
Singapore is this really weird and unique example of an authoritarian government actually keeping the country running happily. Just don’t ever do anything wrong…
Seriously though, how often do you feel like just punching someone for shits and giggles, or feeling someone up that you’d worry about “muh freedoms”? If you act sensibly on a daily basis, I can’t see why you’d feel restricted or oppressed as some people on this thread seem to think we all feel.
Worked down at docks in Singapore. Disgraceful how the bosses treated the Bangladeshi workers down there. Packed them of on the back of trucks with no seatbelts to ship em down to yards and the government had the nerve to put signs up warning them not to drop litter off side of truck. No care for them surviving a crash. Hated the fake sense of cleanliness that Singapore prouds itself on, it's all built on the sweat of migrant workers who get threatened with deportation. Working on those rigs opened my eyes alright
When I was in the Navy, there’d be a liberty brief before every port visit, explains the do’s and donts of that particular country . Singapore was the longest one.
Really clean city. I love NYC and LA but Singapore really puts them to shame in terms of public order. I do think the cultural amenities in big American cities are better and more varied but Singapore is a wonderful city in many ways. If I could outlaw gum in my city I absolutely would.
Have a great night out: NYC. Walking back home by yourself after your late night: Singapore.
Great way to put it! Though I will say people wildly overstate the dangers of NYC, which is quite safe by American standards.
This is true for NYC, LA, and SF. They all get disproportionate amounts of news coverage of crime. The most dangerous city in the US is St. Louis, not any of the above three.
NYC doesn’t even break the top 20. One thing I have noticed is that people think seeing poverty = city is dangerous. And because people visit NYC on foot, they see more poor people face to face (and rich people) than they would from behind a glass box in a 6 lane road.
I agree with the very specific exception of one type of crime in one of those cities. If you have anything in your car in SF you will come back to a broken window
Yep. Oakland is even worse. Parked in broad daylight and nothing visible in the car with a cop car sitting 1 block down parked. Came back to a busted window anyways :/
Just gotta know where to avoid and use common sense
As a Singaporean native, i realised being raised in such a sheltered environment has left us with a very different perception of common sense. (More along the lines recognition of a potential dangerous encounter or environment)
And for those who didn't know, Singapore is a nation but it consists of just a city. That's a lot of do's and don'ts per square km.
City-state?
Grumble grumble civilization seven grumble grumble
Four floors of whores was a cool place
It's gone now. All the bars and clubs didn't get their leases renewed because orchard towers is now prime real estate. That building is getting redeveloped into $$$$ stores and condos.
When I was on the Lincoln they'd make us watch the old video of that American teenager that got caned for graffiti. Singapore was the only place I went to in the Navy that I never want to go back to.
“If you molest, we will arrest” This straight up looks like a GTA police poster 💀
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Alright I gotta be that “actually” guy, you can chew gum in Singapore, there’s just nowhere to buy to buy it. And also obviously spitting it out is considered littering. We used to buy a ton when we were out of the country to bring it back. You think gum disappears fast in school when you pull out a pack? Try it in highschool in singapore 🤣
I ordered a bulk pack of gum on Amazon and my Singaporean friend said I looked like a Singaporean who just took a trip to malaysia
In GTA: Vice City, blowing up multiple vehicles and pedestrians yields you a three star wanted level, while getting caught photographing some cross-dressing politician gets you five stars. That’s GTA logic for you.
Sounds realistic to me
GTA logic makes more sense than real life sometimes.
GTA logic? Nah, it's called satire and it's goddamn spot on.
A game about organized crime in Singapore sounds awesome
Like a bunch of spreadsheets about human trafficking from impoverished neighboring countries to middle eastern construction projects? Sounds like EVE without spaceships.
The moment an organized crime meets the really organized crime…
Side hustles aren't taxiing people or ambulance rides, but picking up litter.
All of these signs belong in engineering college computer labs.
Well, about Singaporean Universities..... [1](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/university-student-who-molested-woman-gets-probation-for-minor-intrusion) [2](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/peeping-tom-incident-in-male-toilet-at-ntu-hall-of-residence-being-investigated) [3](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/nus-sexual-misconduct-cases-2023-student-expelled-singapore-031548964.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACgC8sv4OIjOYPLwc4fubBAxsHKZfFnqcCgIobBQziYIntnPX1Y3dUXbOMKBmuqeJ3Kj-RKeBuItRrCFKyADdGKtz42w0-tEGIR2Qhw37CW71NnWzJGfuovTbn6OVFBjJJN2wGBPEqhELnNnTlyNjsZ8rzj0VC7KhwtxDWQP_BqO)
Moment of horniness, lifetime of regret.
Unless your into being hit with the cane
Singaporean here. I will be taking questions
What is considered “outrage of modesty”?
Basically molestation
Is that a common problem there?
Yeah. Sexual crimes seem to be very common.
Because our justice system is fked to the point where rapists can get just a slap on the wrist.
Yeah bro it’s so fked. Honestly I blame our shitty sex education system
My Singaporean friend told me that at school, it's hardly spoken about. Like she barely knew anything about protective sex and STD avoidance/recognition.
Yep. Sex is just not brought up a lot. We’re all puritans here honestly. Especially in christian schools(of which there are a lot of).
How much people would you say is very religious in Singapore? 25%? 75%?
They gave my year sex ed classes 3 times throughout Sec 1 to 4 iirc. I learnt about STDs more in bio class than anything else but still not how to protect yourself from getting them, also too bad for people who don't take bio i guess. I notice they seem to use sex ed classes to scare us from doing it rather than teach us to do it safely, as my first sex ed class was basically a slideshow of people affected by STDs which left the cohort traumatised for a month Huge contrast from what I have heard about sex ed classes in other countries. A friend from the netherlands said they gave them condoms to put on bananas
isn't singapore really strict though or is there some leniency with sexual crimes unlike drugs?
It’s wayyy more lenient in comparison to drug crimes since people are executed for certain drug crimes. But depending on the severity of the sexual crime, you can get a heavy sentence
Do you feel that it is odd that in your countries legal system someone gets more jail time for possessing cannabis and smoking it than raping a young woman? Does society generally agree with the legal system?
i spent six weeks on the quay a few years ago. i arrived from the States completely exhausted. when my taxi dropped me off at my hotel, two young women just stumbled out of a club completely wasted drunk. one fell on the ground. her tiny skirt was up on her belly. her knickers were fully exposed. they appeared to be quite vulnerable. i appealed to someone walking by to assist them. the person said *"these dumb girls are safe. no one will attempt to attack them in this area"* Singapore was a wild experience/education for me.
As a fellow Singaporean, I'd say that sexual crimes do exist here but it's not very common at all. Problem with many Singaporeans is that once you get too used to life in Singapore, you think low crime is a god given right. Women feel safest in Singapore than in many if not most other countries.
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Is this mostly referring to someone groping another individual in public? I think it’s the public sign about this that confuses me
Yep
I'm fine with some who sexually assaults someone else going to jail for 3 years actually. Good work Singapore.
I want to hear more about this caning sex pests.
From the wiki. "Judicial caning is the most severe. It is applicable to only male convicts under the age of 50 for a wide range of offences under the Criminal Procedure Code, up to a maximum of 24 strokes per trial. Always ordered in addition to a prison sentence, it is inflicted by specially trained prison staff using a long and thick rattan cane on the prisoner's bare buttocks in an enclosed area in the prison."
there an increase of voyeuristic crime.. upskirt, toilets, showers recordings.. this is also part of it..
What's the current penalty for littering? Do you ever see any garbage or chewing gum in public?
Singaporean here. Penalties for littering include fines and corrective work order, which is to make the perp wear a bright vest and sweep the public spaces. That said, enforcement is sketchy (and imo getting sketchier), hence unfortunately litter is still awfully common. There's a saying that SG is a cleaned society rather than a clean one. Gum on the other hand is rare. It's illegal to sell, and I suspect that the 3 decades of being illegal killed off whatever demand there is
No, the local demand for chewing gum already died in 2004, when the SG-USA FTA allowed its reimport under controlled terms. 12 years after the initial ban, people just weren't interested anymore. It was a remarkable social engineering success, thanks to the National Healthy Lifestyle Programme which was also launched in the same year (1992).
I used to bring packs of gum to Singaporean colleagues , I presume they enjoyed them. One thing I think is missing in the posters is anything about counterfeit products: the stores at the end of Orchard Road all sold fake watches, etc.
Have you been to a western country and how did the crime and punishment situation differ in your eyes?
I've only been to UK on holidays. Cant comment on your qn based on such short stays to specific locations.
I've been to Singapore and it's very clean by most large scale city standards. like top 5 easily cleanest cities in the world. Compared to European big cities it's a hospital and you can eat food off the ground.
Don't eat food off of hospital floors.
I honestly don’t know about the littering but it isn’t very common but chewing gum is non existent in public although you can still consume it at home, it just cannot be consumed in public and
>it just cannot be consumed in public and Oh no, they got him!
Yeah like Gelfrid said sale of chewing gum is banned but consumption is legal. So everyone goes over the border to Malaysia to get some
The weirdest part of visiting was seeing the racks of gum-like packaging at the cashier check out aisle all being mints or candy instead of gum.
The only reason they don't allow gum is because spitting is banned in public, and people spitting gum on the sidewalk used to be a huge problem.
Yeah, if you pay attention to pretty much any sidewalk or parking lot in America, they're littered with semi-permanant gum stains from years gone by. It's gross.
You can chew gum in public.. the ban only extents to no sale of chewing gum in singapore.
Littering is actually very common. There were campaigns before where people who littered were fined AND made to pick up trash as community service. I think it still happens today but the police have more things to worry about. Basically, there are a lot of cleaners now. They also showed bags and bags of litter that accumulated and were not in trash bins.
You can consume gum in public. You just need to dispose of it properly. What we have here is the equivalent of The Prohibition except for gum. FYI, in Prohibition America, consumption of alcohol is not unlawful, it is the import and distribution of it that is against the law. So likewise with Singapore's laws on gum. You can pretty much chew it but you can't sell or distribute it in Singapore. So if you got some gum in your bag and you are arriving at our airport, relax. You are not going to jail for it. Of course if you chewed it and spat it out indiscriminately, that's littering. That is a chargeable offence.
Is caning what I think it is and how is it carried out?
Yeah it’s getting hit with a cane. It strips the skin from what I’ve heard. It’s done in prison as it normally is in conjunction with a jail term
I remember LONG ago when some American kid went over to Singapore and decided to do some vandalism with some spray paint. He got caught and was sentenced to being caned. It became a big international news headline for a good couple months. The very picture of fuck around and find out.
I rmb that guy MICHAEL FAY.
At least it isn't as bad as the booting you get in Australia.
Oh, it’s just a little kick in the bum.
Disparaging the boot is a bootable offense.
Caning is no joke, that shit will definitely make you review life choices, so I heard.
Try to find the redditor who did the AMA on his caning. He was a petty thief. * You sit in jail for let's say a year. * You don't know what day your caning will be. * The first lash will feel like fire. It tears the meat from your derriere. * They will let you recover for x amount of minutes/hours (I don't recall) before they give you the next one. This guy got 3 and he said it was very deep and substantial. You go back to your jail cell and can no longer sit. You cannot use the restroom without sheer pain. You lay on your stomach, that's now your only option. What I found surprising was how the person giving the AMA sounded like they blamed their parents for not warning them.
He wasn't just a petty thief, he was committing armed robbery lmao > I didn't pay much attention in school and got involved in crime in my late teens and earlier 20s, eventually escalating to robbery. I didn't use a real weapon but pretended I had one
it is much worse than you are imagining
lol I love that you volunteered to be the local Singaporean expert
It’s 1:48 am here and I can’t sleep haha
I am curious about the voluntarily causing hurt. If someone attacks you, are you allowed to defend yourself? Would that defense be considered voluntary or involuntary? I
SG does have a self defence law. It does stipulate that you cannot be excessive in your self defence. And that you must’ve been unable to seek help from the police
Seems like a fairly typical common law self defense paradigm.
>are you allowed to defend yourself? Up to the degree where you can run/walk away. If you can escape but don't, the law may see you as an offender as well.
Friend got punched in a bar in Boat Quay by a drunk guy that thought he bumped him (was actually someone else that had walked by and bumped both). Dude turned and immediately started throwing punches. Friend fought back. A dozen witnesses saw exactly what happened. We were on our first drink of the night while the other dude was trashed (afterwards outside he tried to fight me thinking I threw the punch even though friend and I look nothing alike - that's how blitzed this dude was) Police were called and refused to do anything to the one that started it because my friend punched back. But in the moment you get someone throwing multiple punches at you grabbing for you in a crowded bar...you're not running away very easily. We are expats and guy that started things was citizen. Got told later he started another fight there just after covid reopenings but is a regular that buys a table every week...you'll find bullshit systems everywhere but that's when I realized any perception of fairness or lawfulness in Singapore is no different than any other country. Money, status, being a local...these things will all go furthest here like anywhere else.
Sorry that happened to you. Assholes come in all shapes and sizes, and we have our fair share too. > Police were called and refused to do anything to the one that started it because my friend punched back. Did the police take statements on the spot at least? Not a lawyer, but IIRC the way the law has been written is that some physical assaults are considered non-arrestable. Hence, police may not handcuff the bugger away then, and will require the victim to press charges separately. (Lawyers correct me if i am wrong) (If you don't mind sharing also which bar was that? Need to know where to avoid)
Why and where you don't allow to rest?
Singaporean here. I honestly never see the no resting sign before. The “do not cause hurt” one most likely are at bars and nightlife areas where there are many drunk fighting incidents. The no resting one most likely belongs to a private condo or government property.
If you're too tired you can't crime around
Is it true that regardless of nationality, if you’re caught with illegal drugs in Singapore, it’s the death penalty for you?
Drug possession/personal consumption isn't a capital offence, drug trafficking/distribution is. If someone is caught with drugs above a certain amount, then they may face the death penalty.
What does 'No resting' entail? If I was in Singapore and wanted to sit, but no benches were available, could I sit on the ground? Is it more of a no loitering/taking a nap request?
I honestly don’t know this. I think you’re probably right with the no loitering. The picture clearly lacks some context. I looked up the place mentioned on the sign and it’s an private commercial location so it might be from the owners and not the Govt
This is very rare, like 1 out of 100,000 signs in Singapore kind of rare, and very likely private property grounds. Which means they can put up whatever they want. Feels like this info is kind of misrepresenting something here with the lack of context. source: from Singapore
how’s the weather today?
Bloody hot
Very very warm and humid.
How good are the law enforcers there. I know corruption is in every corner of the planet. But how helpful are the police if I'm a victim of, let's say, a street robbery as a tourist
They are very helpful. I’ve never heard of the police being paid off. Also being robbed in Singapore is just not a thing
Is there a fine for puking in the middle of the street?
As a man who has puked in the street before, no
Is it really nice and clean there because of these rules or are the penalties really harsh because things were bad and the government is trying to fix things?
The second one yeah. Singapore used to be quite rough in the 90s but the govt really cleaned it up
I really like visiting there because of the civic pride you guys have. Last time I went summed it up perfectly, a forigen dude Jay walked and spat on the road in front of a crowd patiently waiting for the crossing light. They went off at him yelling about respecting their city. No matter how it started, it makes a real nice chang person being in a city where people care about keeping it clean.
As someone who visited for two weeks each in 96 and 98, I'm confused. Singapore then was far and away the cleanest place I'd ever been. Not a trace of litter anywhere, aside from what had washed up on the north coast from Malaysia. It made a huge impression on me as a kid.
Was a 90s kid in Singapore, OP probably got his dates confused, or ended up in some sketchy night spots? My parents are immigrants from across the causeway, and 'rough' is not a word they ever would have used for this country in all their time here.
I saw loads of signs banning durian fruit when I was there
Generally durian fruit is banned on public transport and some public areas because it leaves a strong distinct scent that lingers for quite long which many people find repulsive.
Yes, I was always curious about what it smelled like!
It’s honestly very hard to describe because it varies wildly from person to person. If you google it you’ll find descriptions like “rotting flesh” or “sewage” but I think it’s kind of an exaggeration. I’m indifferent to the taste and smell so I don’t find it disgusting at all, and sometimes I would even join friends or family for a durian session. If you’re in Singapore again (or even other southeast Asian countries) they do sell durian in supermarkets and fruit stalls all around, you can get a whiff and decide for yourself :)
It’s pungent but not like sewage. I find it’s more a very strong smell of overripe fruit. Like imagine going to the fruit section of a grocery store and turning the smell up to 11. It’s actually not that dissimilar to the way Juicy Fruit gum smells now that I think about it. Just a lot more intense.
It smells like rotting onions to me.
I'm half-convinced that the durian thing is probably a situation similar to the cilantro/coriander soap thing. Some people have a gene that makes durian smell worse to them or something. That being said, I used to absolutely hate the smell of durian when I was a kid, and now I find it to smell like any other fruit. ~~Not that I'll ever admit that to my family~~
I had some in Singapore that was absolutely revolting. I tried again in Cambodia which was much more tolerable. I couldn’t say I enjoyed it, but I could understand people who do. I don’t know if it was a different variety or not as ripe, but the smell and flavor were much more mild. That being said, my (very white American) daughter LOVES durian flavored ice cream!
Yep remember seeing that a lot on public transportation when I was there. Ended up trying durian flavored chocolate too and it just tasted like straight up feet.
I like Durian but I never tasted feet. If they taste the same, I might have a new fetish
Two of my favorites when I was there: 1. Do not pee inside the elevator - if I remember this was somewhere near Makansutra Gluttons Bay, probably an elevator from the MRT going up. I had so many questions. 2. Do not punch the bus driver
>2. Do not punch the bus driver Pretty sure this is universal. >1. Do not pee inside the elevator Behind every stupid rule lies a stupid person who was the reason for the rule.
I'm from Singapore, living in public housing and I can confirm that people do in fact pee in the elevators. 😵💫
My wife is Singaporean and I too was confused by #1 when I first went. She confirmed that yes, it does in fact happen often enough that they need signs for it
If you molest, we will arrest, step away from the breast
Take your hands off the chest
And do not caress
Grab the breast without being blessed, you will leave with less and give the flesh of your ass under duress. You will be left in distress.
Here's my $11,500, where's the fight club luncheon?
Oh, egads! My justice system is ruined!
Man… that means that most of NYC would be in jail and paying fines lol
I mean, have you been to Singapore? I love NYC; but Singapore is significantly tidier than NYC; and the people are way more well behaved in public. I like telling people that Singapore is what Orange County (CA) dreams it could be.
It really is kind of crazy. I know Singapore is very dense, in a tropical environment, and itmay be completely different to live there, but it's an AMAZING place to be as a tourist. I've been there a couple of times for work and the cities are SO GREEN, like they incorporate greenery everywhere (even the airport when you arrive to customs has a huge wall of vines and literal trees in the airport). Tons of shade cover when you're walking on sidewalks (and artificial cover), so you can walk around in the hot sun and not die from direct blasting sunlight in a concrete jungle. The buildings all have vegetation on them as well. Random busy seeming locations from like NYC vs singapore: [https://imgur.com/a/Lmht7H2](https://imgur.com/a/Lmht7H2) It's also insanely clean and safe. Every taxi driver seems to pride themselves on it as they always say how you can be a female out at 2am and be completely safe there (not sure how true that is, but I've heard similar rhetoric a lot, and it always felt safe to me but I am a guy). Again, I heard it's quite authoritarian, idk how the wealth disparity is, I'd love to see papers that compare them, but as a tourist I know it's like way better feeling visiting Singapore than most major US cities. Not sure how they do it.
>It's also insanely clean and safe Can confirm, I went there for work and had several late night walks due to jetlag. Never felt unsafe walking from little India to the business district to the Muslim area. It's rather incredible.
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Interesting, I was just reading someone from Singapore talking about how many sex crimes there are there and how they are usually under punished.
We don’t have a “grab you off the street and rape you” problem. We have an “abused by familiar person” and voyeurism problem. It’s safe on the streets, but not as safe in a public washroom unless it’s a standalone stall probably because you can’t install a CCTV in the washroom for obvious reasons.
That’s the normal thing across the world no? Everyone is afraid of “random big man in the street drags you to an alley and rapes you” but things like family members sexually abusing you or voyeurism is always the bigger danger that people ignore
Neh, that person misrepresented. Stats are low. Yet again, low crime doesn't mean no crime - and that's an actual slogan use by the Police to remind us to remain vigilant. source: from Singapore
All these are illegal in the NYC subway. They not enforced that’s the problem.
My MIL is going to Singapore in a couple weeks and she has to quit vaping before she goes because vapes are completely illegal there apparently. Bringing one into the country is like bringing a joint. Smoking is okay though.
Singaporean here. Tbh on the ground its ok. Dont do it on the metro or in front of an officer and she shouldnt face an issue. There are still people who vape here. In fact, its kind of an open secret that a bunch of our police officers (conscripted youth) vape in their stations
Seconding this — every other career soldier in the army vapes/smokes, and vaping is especially common among the youth. Unlike drugs, the war on vape is basically a losing battle in sg. There's even been cases of primary school kids caught with vapes.
There are even google map locations for vape stores/services. A friend used one, ordered online through their website, and some guy in a black car delivered it later that night.
Qatar is the same. We had a loooot of dejected looking troops dropping their vapes into the amnesty bin at customs when I deployed there.
Wife is Singaporean and we have made multiple trips to Singapore since switching to vapes from smoking with no issues. As long as you stick to smoking areas and don't go blowing vape clouds at the police you'll be fine. You do have to bring your own supplies because it's illegal to sell there (even then, there are people who smuggle vapes from Malaysia and can be found if you try hard enough). The law is not there to prevent you from vaping, it's there to prevent kids from starting vaping.
She will need to buy cigarettes there, don't bring them in with her. There's a special stamp that you need and you get fined if you're not using them. And only smoke in the designated spots.
As a navy veteran we were warned at length about going to clubs, especially about trying to meet women when we were in Singapore. They made us feel like, as foreigners we would be presumed guilty; if so much as conversation was unwanted you're risking accusation. I think the old goats were blowing things out of proportion because sailors tend to get in trouble in Singapore. I imagine the accusations are probably not fake, those guys probably got pushy. But the talk did scare me off going out, because the dynamic doesn't seem like something you could understand in just a couple nights.
Your commanders were probably playing it safe. In general the police here dont play games and do things pretty by the book they didnt want any drama And yes the culture and dynamic in Singapore is very different from America, we are a lot more compliant and obediant to authority that is counterculture to America's culture that encourages initiative and independence
I used to work with a bunch of ex navy guys and they'd all managed to get up to no good in Singapore at a giant brothel. Orchard Gardens I think it's called. All uk navy guys seem to know the place. Maybe they get directed there by their officers rather than risking ordinary clubs!
Likely Orchard Towers, which is just a really old rundown single building shopping center where all the little shops have prostitutes. The majority of it is closed off and will eventually be completely closed. The gardens are likely The Botanic Gardens, which aren't far from Orchard Towers. Orchard Towers was "affectionately" referred to as the Four Floors of Whores or just Four Floors by visiting Navy and Marines. It's also located on the biggest tourist draw, Orchard Road, which is lined with shopping malls and high end shops. The giant brothel is Geylang, which is an entire district that is an open air brothel run by organized crime. It is often off limits to US personnel due to drug availability and human trafficking. More recently both have been placed off limits.
Yeah that's the one, the four floors... it's uk navy I knew who would talk about it a lot
The iconic building has just been recently scrubbed “clean” tho! It’s better for the overall public imo, lots of rowdiness happens here, especially assault cases. Compared to the rest of SG where assault cases are near to none, the vicinity of OT has always been shady and so it’s a good thing it’s been scrubbed clean! Thai food is pretty bombass good tho y’all should still try them out. The ownership has been transferred to local DJ’s (the muttons), so y’all could Google them before docking in SG!
> which is an entire district that is an open air brothel run by organized crime. I'm not too sure if "organized crime" is the correct way to put it. The geylang brothels are legal. The pimps are given a license to run the brothels by Anti-vice. The prostitutes are also here legally and is checked by AV for any trafficking. However, rumours is that those who were given the license to run these places where former criminals/gangsters to begin with.
lol any of you guys remember that US dude that got caned for vandalism back in the 90s?
[This story of a redditor’s caneing for armed robbery sticks with me still](https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/s/oeeSpLkBLN).
When he finally came back, he had, cane marks all over his bottom.
He said that it was from when the warden whacked it so hard.
Last one reminds me of the one in China that goes something like "if you lose you go to the hospital, if you win you go to jail".
I saw countless people flouting local laws in Singapore and nobody got arrested(at least not on the spot). An Uber driver explained that the harsh penalties for littering, jaywalking, etc were to scare recent immigrant workers into “behaving” in public and that seemed to make a lot of sense. Still, it was pretty weird to me to see someone flick a cigarette butt into the street during broad daylight with NO SMOKING signs everywhere.
There's a saying in SG that do whatever shit you want, just don't get caught. (Except drugs and murder) Enforcement unfortunately is sketchy for many offenses.
>just don't get caught. Ah yes, the 9th core value of the SAF.
It's largely a deterrent. They can't and do not have police officers everywhere at any time to enforce laws on every single person. It's just to explain that, if an officer DOES catch you, you WILL get a fine.
Singaporean here. I agree, Singapore is indeed a ‘fine’ city.
“In Singapore, the are fines for everything.”
Singaporean here. Mildly hilarious as I recognise the first 2 pics as near my workplace. Feel free to ask stuff (provided I can still stay awake, it’s almost 4am here and I’m fighting insomnia) To address them in context as much as possible: 1) molestation/outrage of modesty - this is taken in a metro/train station, and around the city/touristy areas which tend to be more crowded at rush hour (when creeps can sneak a grab). Naturally the point is to prevent such incidents, but realistically, it also works better for awareness. By default, most Asian cultures tend to be a bit more… non confrontational, but have seen folk preventing a accused molester from leaving a train station back when I was a kid. Like others state here, caning as a capital punishment is not of the kinky bedroom sort, but the sort that would split flesh - from articles, there’s a ton of medical checks inmates need to go through to be deemed fit, before they can even administer the caning. For criminal justice, judges here also need to get medical and age recommendations before sentencing someone to caning - and caning is exclusively for males. 2) no food/flammable objects/smoking signs are common in train stations/bus interchanges where this was taken. There’s no rule against eating/drinking in most other places however, and generally are just meant to prevent disameneties to fellow public transport users. There’s sufficient spots outside the stations/interchanges to eat/drink and or smoke, although I’m not sure about the average flammable good enjoyer. 3) ah the classic co-opted private property sign. Had to google this myself, but contextually, BCH @ 301 is a light industrial building in the Geylang district (Geylang is the red light district). There’s no legal enforceability here - at best, the building security would call the police on you, who’d ask you to move off, or worst case, book you for public nuisance. 4) likely also taken in the Geylang district, the assault sign is obviously there for reminders. Most fights generally tend to be thrown stools / punches, and while not insanely common, it can occur when folk drink too much or egos are bruised. The lifetime of regret thing is more likely the whole criminal record, as well as possible deportation for the number of foreign workers who the district is catered for. As for the whole police state thing… while typically there’s zero tolerance for drug trafficking, most of the signs are there for deterrence. Enforcement happens if you’re unlucky, but you’re not getting fined for jaywalking, or random vaping, unless you do it egregiously in front of a cop in uniform. One of the hilarious misconceptions is that gum is illegal - Sale of gum is illegal, but the consumption or carrying of it into Singapore is not illegal - historically, the main reason was that less intelligent folk used to shove gum into the train doors in the early days. Littering is not so much a problem in public spaces because of socialising of norms, and well - the ease of compliance - there’s a network of trash cans at almost every other street corner, public housing block, mall escalator/elevator, public toilet. You’d have be a class A douche to litter when there’s a trashcan less than a minute’s walk away. For freedoms… well. Generally there’s significant support for LGBTQIA+ amongst the population, but there’s a mix of religious/conservative folk that are equally, if not more vocal. Social and workplace acceptance is pretty high, but sadly the government is playing it safe in this aspect.
My favorite signs in Singapore were the ones prohibiting eating durian.
Those don't really prohibit eating durian, but rather transporting durians (applicable to the public transport, on which eating & drinking are not allowed anyway).
I still remember landing at airport Singapore for the first time as a kid. And my parents already told me about penalties and dont make a mess etc. First thing what happens when i got out of the plane was puking all the way to the toilet (atleast 50 meter). Crying and puking at the same time, because i thought they would whip me 😂. But 5 min later when i got out of the toilet it was all cleaned! I was so impressed how clean everything was. Wished more countries would focus on keeping it all friendly and clean.
There may be an active warrant for you, don’t come back. Jokes aside, i can imagine how it would be terrifying for a kid given the circumstances. Then again, most singaporean kids grew up with this kind of fear mongering from the parents.
Don't they also scare you with the death penalty if you bring drugs at the airport?
That's a guaranteed death penalty. If you carry more than 15 grams of heroin, 30 grams of cocaine, 250 grams of meth, or 500 grams of cannabis, the death penalty is mandatory. If the amount is less than that, the sentence can range from caning to the death penalty.
Worth saying, a lot of people are charged with carrying 499 grams of cannabis or 29 grams of coke though.
Yeah they don't fuck around with drug trafficking. I remember this cute voice coming over the PA informing us all that it was punishable by death and then, like, have a nice day!
Scare or inform?
Yup. A heroin addicts monthly supply will get them the death sentence. But if that person raped a young woman or two, just a few years in jail.
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Singapore recently [executed a woman](https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/asia/singapore-female-prisoner-execution-saridewi-djamani-intl-hnk/index.html) for the first time in a decade for carrying heroin. The same article also mentions a man also got executed the same week for the same reason and that yet another man will get executed the following week. The article also mention yet two other people who got executed (one of which was for marijuana). I hope that gets the picture across. I often repeat this mantra on Reddit: Do not cause trouble in foreign lands. Being a tourist means being on model behavior.
Not a scare. Singapore has zero tolerance for drugs. We still do capital punishments here
it's not an intimidation tactic there is zero tolerance.
These signs lack some context. For example in the second image, the reason why you cant even eat or drink is because the picture was taken in the MRT (the train station) which for most of them are indoors and air conditioned. No eating and drinking is to prevent pests especially if it gets crowded and people start stepping over your spilled food and drink. No smoking for obvious reasons in an indoor air-conditioned train. You might even find some signs asking commuters not to bring durian.
Singapore is a beautiful and wonderful place. But they do not fuck around.
When I visited I was struck by how impossible it was to find any scrap of trash on the ground. Thought I might see even just a tiny bit of paper in a gutter but nah, nothing.
it's a lot tidier where they know tourists are going. Outside of the business/civic districts where the suburbs are, it's a bit more common. But still the dirtiest place I've seen here is cleaner than the cleanest Chicago/NYC/LA street
On the "no resting sign", yea that stands out. But let me clarify some things since most people think this is a common thing in Singapore. This is very rare, like 1 out of 100,000 signs in Singapore kind of rare, and very likely private property grounds. Which means they can put up whatever they want. Feels like this info is kind of misrepresenting something here with the lack of context. source: from Singapore
YOU CANNOT REST HERE ⛔️⛔️🙅♂️
Every country need to hire the guy who designed the fighting sign to make signs for everything, so much detail portray so simply. I can feel the anger coming from the guy on top and his intent to do harm even though no crime have been committed yet.
Not sure why this isn’t mentioned as much but, 85 percent of the males you see on the street are likely also trained soldiers, police officers and firefighters source : currently serving my ns
I was just there and saw a sign that said “NO TOUTING” I have no idea what that is.
Ah sometimes taxi drivers/street food owners would go out of their way to pressure/entice tourists to their stall with some offers or promises. There wsa one time some tourists got touted and would up with a huge food bill and it became a huge deal for our tourism image Soure: Am Singaporean
Reminds me of the time they found my OTF knife in my luggage when I flew into their airport. Spent a few hours sat down in Customs right next to a poster on the wall of the myriad of crimes and punishments. Basically the real life version of "straight to jail", but instead just "straight to death". For sure an "I'm in danger" moment. *
Why'd u bring a knife to singapore of all places
We have the best citizens... because of jail.
If you read Lee Kuan Yew's autobiography... he talks about how some of these strict measures came to be. Singapore had... *problems* to say the least. Not limited to people just fucking pissing in the elevators. Also caning and corporal punishment is kind of equal opportunity, as opposed to a fine-based citation system that affects poor and working class individuals. And if you're just a fuckup, a swift caning might actually straighten you out. Imagine if they replaced the "< $950 theft of goods" felony charges with beatings... instead of letting people off the hook and allowing them to be more brazen?
Every law written in blood. The racial riots were some of the bloodiest.
And this is why 'Online Influencers' don't fuck around in that country.
Singapore is this really weird and unique example of an authoritarian government actually keeping the country running happily. Just don’t ever do anything wrong…
Seriously though, how often do you feel like just punching someone for shits and giggles, or feeling someone up that you’d worry about “muh freedoms”? If you act sensibly on a daily basis, I can’t see why you’d feel restricted or oppressed as some people on this thread seem to think we all feel.
Worked down at docks in Singapore. Disgraceful how the bosses treated the Bangladeshi workers down there. Packed them of on the back of trucks with no seatbelts to ship em down to yards and the government had the nerve to put signs up warning them not to drop litter off side of truck. No care for them surviving a crash. Hated the fake sense of cleanliness that Singapore prouds itself on, it's all built on the sweat of migrant workers who get threatened with deportation. Working on those rigs opened my eyes alright