Singapore is an amazing city, not only is there so much to do, but it is extremely safe and green. It seems like the perfect destination, especially as your first time in asia. The one thing about Singapore that really stood out to me were all the laws; they have so many unique laws that I never would have thought would be ot only laws, but have such serious consequences. Singapore also claims that the main rationale for these laws is to keep the peace and harmony amongst its citizens. For reference as well, these fines are all in SGD, where 1SGD is almost equivalent to 1CAD.
No alcohol past 10:30pm
If you are in a designated drinking area such as a bar or club it is fine, but if you are out in public it is illegal.
Consequence: $1000 fine
No gathering in groups of more than 3 past 10:30pm
This one originated from the idea that if you are in large crowds, you must be up to mischief, especially at night… so they are banned altogether.
Consequence: $3000 fine
No gum
This one actually shocked me! I totally understand that Singapore is an extremely clean country, but never in my life would I have imagined being sent to jail for possessing or chewing gum! The rule here is that you can’t chew it in public, or enter the country with more than 2 packs (or you could be sent to jail as a “gum smuggler”)
Consequence: $1000 forn chewing (first offense); gum smuggling: 2 years prison
No being naked
You heard that right… and not even in your own home! The reasoning is that there are many houses that are extremely close together, making it easy to see into your neighbors homes and “cause disruption”, so if your neighbor reports you, you could be fined!
Consequence: $2000
No vapes
Smoking in general is prohibited pretty much everywhere in Singapore, but vaping is absolutely prohibited. This includes flying into Singapore with a vape, and you evidently cannot purchase them in Singapore.
Consequence: $10,000 fine/ 6 months prison
No connecting to someone else’s wifi
While it is never the best idea to connect to an open wifi in the first place due to data protection, if you decide to do so in Singapore you could be facing hefty consequences!
Consequence: $10,000 or 3 months prison
No feeding the pigeons
Again, Singapore takes pride in being such a clean city, and anything that could potentially dirty it is likely illegal, such as feeding the pigeons in this case. This is because they don’t want abundances of pigeons, or excess food on the ground.
Consequence: $500 fine
Flushing the toilet
Again, Singapore wants to be pristine at all times, and so all toilets must be flushed. This is not enforceable in peoples own homes, just in public spaces. You may be thinking “how would they know” but they actually have people that do random checks in public washrooms!
Consequence: $150 fine
Singing in public (even muttering)
This one surprised me! I only recently found out about it, and i thought it would be to people setting up to sing for money but apparently even if youtube singing to yourself you could still be fined. This law came into place to try to prevent offensive, harmful, or threatening language being spoken.
Consequence: 3 months prison
Spitting
Spitting would of course make the city less clean, so it is obviously illegal. If you are caught spitting in Singapore, be ready for another fine!
Consequence: $1000 (first offense)
I am not making this post to scare you out of visiting Singapore, I just genuinely find these laws quite interesting, and I wanted to share them with you as well. I didn’t know most of these laws existed until I returned from Singapore, because I noticed some strange signs while in the country, which led me to do more research when I left. Don’t let these scare you, you likely wouldn’t even know they existed unless you researched them! Just be weary of chewing gum and you’ll be set!