“Disclaimer – this is meant as a humorous post and intended to just bring a smile on your face. It is not a personal opinion, judgement or views of the author and is not intended to harm / represent any country or its laws in poor light”. 🙂
Anyone who’s been to Singapore will agree with me that for some reason this is one country that is obsessed with rules and regulations, their enforcement and having designated areas for everything. Not that this is a bad thing at all as every country has some of its own and I definitely don’t want to start about the laws of India.
However some of these I found are very strange and funny, for example –
- You can’t buy or carry chewing gum here.
- Hugging is prohibited in public spaces.
- You can’t introduce any stranger as your good friend and speak well of him. Its called abetment if he happens to be crook.
- You cannot walk about in your own house without any clothes.
- You cannot log into any unsecured wi-fi as they will term you as a hacker if you do.
- You can’t eat (especially durian) or drink in public transport.
- You can’t sleep in public spaces.
Hence I was not surprised when I came across a specific designated sign -“Flirting Point” near the Singapore Art Museum. Well, there is an officially designated space for flirting too…. 🙂
The official “Flirting Point”
While I am sure there is a logic and reason for these rules, I still advice you all to check the list of all such rules online before you land here as I am sure hefty fines and jail visits are definitely not a part of your holiday itinerary … 🙂
getsetandgo 
Hilarious…
You could also tag this post in the ‘weird’ / ‘jokes’ category 🙂
On a serious note.. I don’t think its all this pushy in Singapore. I’ve stayed in Singapore for a couple of months on two different occasions and I am sure I wud’ve sidestepped some of these rules. I didn’t get the dreaded jail or the fine even once. It was always a pleasurable experience staying in the city.
PS – Don’t get your mind wandering to Rule no 4, when I mentioned I would’ve sidestepped the rules. I was NOT referring to that rule !!!
LikeLike
hahahaha… I would never have guessed about the jhakassingh…. Thought it was spam… 🙂 .. Also I can understand you logging into other people’s free wifi but when and why were you sleeping on the road? 🙂
LikeLike
For Rule No.1 it is because they don’t want it to get stuck in or dirty their MRT. I was there when they first opened the MRT system. And also for the cleanliness.
For Rule No.6, I think it is because of the smell of durians. Quite pungent in its own unique way.
As they say, Singapore is a FINE country.
LikeLike
Thanks KY…. I can understand all the rules about cleanliness and trying to maintain the aesthetics of a place but the rest are quite weird…. And you are right it is a FINE country….. 🙂
LikeLike
Good to know! Thanks for the heads up!
LikeLike
Thanks allthingsboys
LikeLike
Made me smile reading this post :-). Well, some rules are… just rules ;-). I confirm no. 6 as a rule. They really prohibit eating anything, I think aside from the smell, they want to maintain the cleanliness of their public transport. As for the rest, I have seen/ witnessed it 🙂
LikeLike
Its so funny right…I can undertsand that you want to keep the city clean and aesthetically nice but how does hugging or what do you do in your own house matter? I just dont undertsand the logic for that…
LikeLike
Ow, I actually had been in Singapore for two days and one night. That was back in 2005 on our stop on the way to Diego Garcia. Sad to say, I didn’t get the chance to take pictures and chronicle my visit there. I remember the no chewing and littering rules. I found out about all the other conservative rules as well. They really are tight.
I also remember the noodles we had. Back then, I didn’t know how to eat with chopsticks. Heh. Thanks for memory nudge! Thanks for sharing the humor pic.
LikeLike
Hey… U r welcome… Apart from these rules I quite like this city….you should definitely visit it sometime
LikeLike
Ahhhhh travel.
LikeLike
awesome, all I knew was the chewing gum and the strict implementation of no jaywalking … now I know the rest :-)) thank you
LikeLike
You are welcome… 🙂
LikeLike
That’s hilarious! I’ll need to set aside some bail money should I to visit Singapore, as I might need to break #5 and #7. Thanks for the heads up!
LikeLike
Thanks mylifesomuchbetter… I guess some things sure need to change before you travel to Singapore… 🙂
LikeLike
Hello there! Was checking out your blog when I chanced upon this post about my home country. Couldn’t resist but to set the record straight on the few rules you listed.
1. You can’t buy or carry chewing gum here. – Yep that’s right. It was banned in the early 90s (I think) when people left their gum on seats and in between train doors. Singapore was quite the 3rd world country back then. Now, nobody gives a hoot if you chew gum openly so it’s cool.
2. Hugging is prohibited in public spaces. – I’ve not heard of people getting hauled to the station for hugging in public. Just be prepared for the incessant finger pointing and disapproving looks from the elderly.
3. You can’t introduce any stranger as your good friend and speak well of him. Its called abetment if he happens to be crook. – Have not heard of that.
4. You cannot walk about in your own house without any clothes. – That’s true. There have been news reports of complaints to the police about people who do so.
5. You cannot log into any unsecured wi-fi as they will term you as a hacker if you do. – Not really. Never heard of anyone getting in trouble because of this.
6. You can’t eat (especially durian) or drink in public transport. – Fact. I believe it’s a $500 fine, although most of the time staff members will give you a verbal warning or confiscate your food/drinks. You’re not allowed to carry durians on board because of their smell.
7. You can’t sleep in public spaces. – I’ve actually seen elderly men and construction workers doing so. I think the police will probably just have a word with you if you’re caught snoozing in public.
All in all, Singapore do have a lot of rules and fines in place. But rest assured there isn’t a witch-hunt for people who commit minor offences. I do jay walk. I’ve littered from time to time. But I haven’t been hauled down to the station and have a light shone at my face to confess my crimes and pay hefty fines.
If the rigid rules and strict enforcement are the reasons from keeping you from visiting Singapore, I can assure you that it’s not a problem. We ain’t as bad as North Korea!
LikeLike
Hey, thanks for visiting my blog and for clarifying on the various rules.. I have been to Singapore quite a few times on work as well as to visit my friends who stay there…And I have definitely not tried to flout any rules there to see what happens.. Hence cant comment on what police will do… 🙂
From all my visits, I like place and did not intend for the post to potray Singapore in any adverse / bad light… It was more from a fun element and thats why the pic as well… And I personally, after being an Indian, feel that some rules are quite required…. But I still find some quite wierd…
LikeLike
Haha I was just going to post a comment like justdesserts because I live in Singapore as well and I had the same comments to make about these rules haha. Yea although many of these rules have fines attached to them (like eating in a bus or train), it’s really not all as bad as it sounds haha. There aren’t police officers hiding behind walls in the train stations waiting to pounce on you if you ate/drank on the trains haha. I have broken these rules myself many times actually! But yea the ‘no hugging in public’ is really something new to me as well; never heard of that one! Haha
LikeLike
I guess each country has its set of funny rules even though they are not enforced. I hope to never to start on our crazy Indian rules 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Snigdha, nice article! As an Indian currently living in Singapore, I especially relate to some of the things you mentioned. The convenience stores here often sell T-Shirts with the caption ‘Singapore is a FINE country’. Although I have to admit, some of these rules like hugging in public are not really implemented 😛 Also, if durians were allowed on public transport, you would surely wish they weren’t! I’m personally very grateful for this rule 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Nivedana… I had written this post more from from a humorous angle on the funny laws there.. I myself have been to Singapore numerous times, have loads of friends there and love the place. Also I must say that luckily I have never been “FINED” here 🙂
LikeLike
Haha yes, same here – Actually, I once saw something that said “$500 fine for not flushing the public toilet” not sure whether that was true (its possibly one of those laws which isnt inplemented) but who knows!
LikeLike
I truly pray that they introduce and enforce this law in India 🙂
LikeLike
Will definitely keep this in mind when I travel to Singapur in August 🙂
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
One of the safest country in the world! We certainly need those rules and regulations for this modern and fast forward country with different races and religions co existing in harmony. Chewing gums are available when I was 5 yrs old, banning of chewing gum came later on because you can find them all over the ground, walls, in the bus etc…. It’s really irritating to step on those gums and it get stuck on your shoes. Hugging is not prohibited , we have a conservative moral values and therefore we want to respect the others and not make them feel uncomfortable , if we want to show our love we can always do it at the premises of our home. It’s true that if I don’t know a person well enough , I would not want to be associated with him or her, you never know he or she could be a crook, and a lot of times it’s true in life not only in Singapore. Again, it’s the respect and conservative thing, I won’t want my young children watching my neighbours walking around the house naked since our Public Housing units are so closely joint together. You can’t eat in public transport because we want to keep it clean. Durian does have a pungent smell and we have to be considerate for the others therefore it is prohibited to take it onto any public transportation. I guess the last one is not an image we want for our country. I travel to other countries quite often coming across junkies and homeless people sleeping in public places asking for money and some do portray as a threat. We want outsider to know that we are a very safe and clean country I suppose.
LikeLike