Singapore is a fine city

by Hendrik Leibrandt
(Germany)

"Singapore is a fine city" is a British saying whose double meaning implies the horrendous penalties for even the smallest offence. Vandalism, buying/selling/eating Bubble Gum (thanks Mike), eating/drinking in buses, lying, all "unnatural" sexual preferences of course, and many more. But it seems like the prohibition of transporting the smelly but tasty durian fruit in buses is not so strictly adhered to.

But the penalties are not limited to paying money, but includes corporal punishment as well (whips with a birch, to create as much pain as possible and permanent scars). Singapore can offer some impressive facts, like being one of the wealthiest countries in the world with one of the highest per head incomes, having one of the lowest crime rates, and the most carried out executions compared to its population with more than 420 between 1990 and 2005.

Taking into account the small size of the country and interpolating that to the population of the U.S., this would be around 28,000! This may be because of the fact that the death penalty is mandatory for certain offences in which case the judge doesn't have any discretionary powers; for example, the illegal firing of a gun (there doesn't have to be anybody hit or even around) or having a certain amount of drugs with you. It doesn't matter if you're the owner or somebody puts it into your bag.

Well, and all these apply for non-citizens and foreigners as well. Scary. It seems like a good method to get rid of unliked persons... So no wonder that the busiest hangman is Singaporean and he gave an interview where he talked about his work and how much fun he has.

Wow, this is some negative report, but this is by far the most current information you'll find when doing some research. This may be because of the high contrast of the wealth of Singapore compared to its very brutal system of justice.