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© 2013 AFPSingapore warns foreigners to obey its laws
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© 2013 AFP
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RowanM
I would like to point out that there was a bigger demonstration 3 days earlier where the foreigners got off with a warning. But when you deliberately break the law a second time in three days, yeah, I can understand them being subject to reasonable penalties.
JeffLee
Perhaps, but you can be sure more than one cop has seen you....
My expat friends living in Singapore in the 90s used to smoke pot on the streets while outside the busiest clubs and bars and never had any trouble. This always baffled me.
okitokidoki
@JeffLeeMay.
"I've been to Singapore a number of times and have never seen a cop."
Perhaps, but you can be sure more than one cop has seen you....
gelendestrasse
When in Rome....it's their country, after all.
Cliffy
Singapore only looks clean at certain areas. When I was working there, I took the bus to many different areas on my own and have found that some are quite dirty. My wife who only speak English/French found that their English is hard to understand. Never mind that. It is a pretty place, tourist areas, yes, but I have found it quite boring. Though, I still like to eat the Pepper Crab.
Anyway, it is just common sense to obey the local laws.
Joseph Perry
None the less, there still isn't much to do in Singapore. And I remember my heart always skipping a beat when I saw so many people jaywalking over there, I easily thought that would be illegal.
msmahumane@gmail.com
It is amazing to read that some of the people criticizing Singapore do that because they miss chaos and filth where they come from. Imagine someone missing his democratic rights to throw chewing gum in the street.
Open Minded
hindingout:
Freedom of speech - and extensively democracy - is also an inconvenient truth for some people and governments. Not everyone has the chance to be born as a wealthy man!
Dutchduck
People who love Singapore, must be kind of masochistic , who else would like to be controlled to that degree? Even the internet is censored!
tkoind2
Singapore is a police state well hidden by a corporate state. If you ever see the real leaders of that country interviewed, they are clearly willing and able to crush any opposition to their positions.
I would never live there, have been offered work there several times, but prefer Japan. Anyway the place is hot as hell 12 months a year, and unless your ideal life is being bored in a tiny country, there is not a hell of a lot to do there.
hidingout
"They" can handle it just fine. they'd just rather not. Unlike the feeble-minded governments of western nations Singapore considers the needs of all its citizens not merely those which moan the loudest. In so doing they have come to the very reasonable and agreeable decision that street protests are a hazard and an annoyance for 99% of citizens.
Right ... real laughingstock. Talk about clueless.
LordPounce
I'm with Serrano
I generally try to avoid negative posts but the government of Singapore is facism with a human face. If the people there are happy with that then more power to them (well less actually but you catch my drift).
Serrano
They still have those silly laws against homosexuals living there, and speaking to donkeys in Chinese?
JeffLee
It remains a fact that the government of Singapore uses a variety of methods to stop demonstrations occurring
From the New York Times of 2012: "As Singapore Loosens Its Grip, Residents Lose Fear to Challenge Authority"
"Those accustomed to thinking of this booming city-state as a bastion of apolitical strivers and shopaholics might be stunned by the burst of civic activism sweeping this crowded flyspeck of an island."
The full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/world/asia/activism-grows-as-singapore-loosens-restrictions.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Singapore is a pretty active police state,
I've been to Singapore a number of times and have never seen a cop.
LAcajun
I love Singapore its a "FINE" place...
Open Minded
And Singapore will have soon to obey the OECD banking rules too!
Serrano
"former British colonies"
There sure is a bunch of those.
highball7
Singapore is clean? To a tourist maybe. There are many zones and districts where drugs, sex, gambling are rampant. Just because they have tough laws doesn't mean Singapore is "clean". Superficial clean like Japan means nothing when you dig a little deeper.
Singapore is probably one of the biggest illegal smuggling port in the world. You can't imagine the filth that gets through the Malacca Strait.
Nessie
My Japanese acqaintance made an offhand remark about the government during a round of golf and was flying Deportation Airlines within 24 hours.
Elbuda Mexicano
Serrano, you really don't like Singapore, do you?
Serrano
They still have that silly no oral sex unless it's used as a form of foreplay law?
JeffLee
There are demonstrations in Singapore, sometimes. The latest was 4,000 people protesting the the gov't's immigration policies a couple of months ago.
The issue here seems to be that foreigners shouldn't be doing it.
Serrano
They still have that silly no chewing gum law?
C Harald Hansen
Me too. But maybe the reward for the smugglers for successfully getting the drugs in is so high that some just can't resist taking the risk.
some14some
fair explanation and a just punishment.
Crazedinjapan
I like Singapore tough laws , overall a nice place to visit. No gum rule is awesome streets are clean , they have a amnesty box before you enter customs so any fool with a brain on his shoulders can discard their illegal goods which surprises me when I read the news about someone getting busted for drugs considering its clearly stated on the customs form drugs is punishable by death.
Asian2013
@Ghazi Singaporeans, anywhere in the world must obey the country's laws otherwise they should be appropriately dealt with. This applies to Malaysia!
Virtuoso
I remember when Billy Crystal quipped at an Oscar awards ceremony, "We were also going to broadcast Singapore, but the crew was hanged at the airport."
Orhan Gazi
I hope those singaporean drivers will obey the speed limits of malaysia highway when they are travelling.