Well, having gone through some posts about Singapore, it seems that the view that some Americans have about Singaporeans are slightly… off, so to speak. So I’m here to field any questions about the Land Of The… umm… Asian Food! Yeah! Or Something.
Anyway, just to give a little bio data, I’m 21, Chinese male, vaguely apolitical, and currently doing a law course in London. So, ask away!
prod prod prod prod
Help! Help! I’m being repressed! 
Are oral sex and gum chewing still illegal in Singapore?
Well, AFAIK, Oral sex was never illegal per se, only that it was required to have real sex afterwards. Not kidding. :rolleyes: In any case, there probably never has been an arrest based on this law, so please go ahead and enjoy as much oral sex as you want. 
As for chewing gum, the possession/consumption of chewing gum is not an offence, only the importation. In any case, I’ve never been prosecuted for bringing in chewing gum, and even if you’re bringing in too much (like, I dunno, 100 pieces or something) and they find out, then all they do is confiscate the stuff, from what I’ve heard from my friends. Never been caught myself. Nothing much, really.
It appears I have been mistaken, and there have been prosecutions based on this law. However, it seems that they prefer to prosecute based on the public decency act and the prostitution laws instead, and there has never been a prosecution based on private consensual behaviour. Pretty hard to enforce that, anyway. AND, we don’t have a law against lesbians! Woo! You go, girls!
Tell this guy.
Do I still have to get my Hippy-Hair cut at the airport???
You’ve got to admire the determination to stamp out all naughtiness of country that had no qualms about stamping SHIT (Suspected Hippie In Transit) in big red letters across someone’s passport!
Was at Changi in 89/90 when two Swedes ahead of me in the immigration queue were given a pair of scissors and told to cut their hair if they wanted to be let in.
Um, the girl in question was 15. I’m pretty happy that he got hit with everything in the book.
You HAVE to be kidding me. How long was their hair, exactly? Can’t be very much longer than mine, and I’ve never heard of anyone asking me to get my hair cut. Do you have a link?
Okay, where did you get this from? Googling provides me with humour sites. Please don’t tell me you believe them.
Well, the law apparently allows for a maximum sentence of 10 years, whereas the policeman was only sentenced to 12 months. The main point is - he wasn’t charged with having sex with an underage girl - he was charged with having ‘unnatural’, i.e. oral, sex. This implies that having regular sex with underage girls is OK, as long as it isn’t oral sex.
Mate, I’m not having a go or trying to be smart with you - I just thought you might have some more recent news on this stuff than what I read in the paper.
Oh, yeah, and the law is currently under review.
What were the hawker markets like before they were institutionalised? They seem pretty vibrant now. Has much been lost? (I could really go for some popiah like the make at Newton Circus, but I’m told there’s a vegetable in it that’s out of season here.)
Do locals take the “bohemian zones” seriously? It seems such an odd idea.
So whereabouts in S’pore do you live?
I have stayed in Bukit Timah (with my friends parents), in Cha Chu Kong, (where they first lived), and now they reside near the Causeway, in a housing flat. I have another friend (expat) there who resides at Selatar Camp, actually very nice digs.
But what I really, really want to know is whatever possessed them to tear down the Satay Club?
What’s it like going from the heat and humidity of Singapore to the weather of London?
Did you study at an undergraduate level in Singapore? What was the competition like to get to into a local university (sorry, “U” ;))?
Do you feel an appreciable cultural difference living in unpredictable and transient London compared to conservative, family-oriented Singapore?
Lastly, where can I get some decent south-east Asian food in London? It seems everything else is on offer, but the ostensibly Chinese food I’ve had here has been crap.
(I’m Australian, but most of my family is Singaporean, FWIW.)
I understand what you mean, of course, that it implies that it is oral sex in particular that he was being charged with. However, in the UK, there was a recent (as in, since 1950, I think) case that involved someone charged with “conspiracy to corrupt public morals”, for distributing ads for prostitutes. Now, I’m sure that you’ll agree with me that it’s a silly thing to be charging people with, especially in the internet age, but sometimes the police just charge people with whatever will stick to get a longer sentence.
As you can see, he got 12 more months based on that charge, whereas he might have gotten off lighter had they not charged him with that, based on sentencing guidelines for judges for his other offences.
I’m not trying to justify the law, I think it’s silly as well, but the fact that it is more or less unenforceable and has never been enforced against consenting adults (to my knowledge) seems to suggest to me that it’s one of those laws that don’t really create a legal responsibility in the everyday sense, that you don’t really worry about such laws unless you were breaking another law in the first place. (most probably public decency laws)
It also seems to bring out the image people have that we have policemen looking into windows with IR scopes trying to spot potential criminals fellating each other - not the case, without a doubt. Much the same as, I dunno, giving kids a sip of wine at the dinner table. Of course it’s illegal, but no-one’s going to arrest you for it.
Oh, and I’m in London, so I didn’t get the news about this guy. Thanks for the heads up! 
Well, can’t say too much about them, since I’m only 21. As for popiah, I’m not too sure what you mean, but as a general rule, vegetables are never out of season!
As for the “Bohemian zones”, well, think of them like “Chinatown”, or maybe “Soho”. Or Ueno park. Subculture tends to kinda bunch up naturally, that sorta thing.
Damn bloody cold, that’s what! Actually, I much prefer it here, much easier to keep warm than to keep cool.
I never went to a local university, but my girlfriend does, and it looks like a pressure cooker. I applied for a place in the university, and I got it, but then again, I’ve got pretty good grades for my ‘A’ levels. Everyone does well, though, 25% of the cohort got AAA, so that’s no comfort.
The culture shock is pretty big, especially with the whole “Hey, how you doin’, mate?” thing… everyone seems more friendly, and I just don’t get the whole “pub” thing. Singapore is a lot more “clique-ish”, in that respect.
South east asian food? If you find it, tell me. Actually, personally, there’s this place called “aji-ajo” that’s along St Martin St, I believe… somewhere near Covent Garden. Pretty decent Malaysian food. Another Singaporean restaurant outside central London, but I don’t know where it is, exactly.
I guess the impression a lot of us have in Oz (reinforced by experiences in the 60s-80s) is of a repressive state under the firm thumb of Lee Kuan Yu. A popular T-shirt of the period had “welcome to singapore - island of liberty” or some such and underneath a listing of all the actions which were banned, from the sensible, “no spitting,” to the ridiculous (to us,) “no chewing gum.”
All absolute tosh, of course, or at least inaccurate or out of date. So it’s a good thing you’re filling us in.
How about some of the other differences which struck when you first left Singapore.
And apparently the policeman was never charged with the oral sex law - that was misreporting by the international media - so I stand corrected.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/57390/1/.html
Have you ever seen a wild/feral Singapura cat? Supposedly they are “drain cats” in Singapore, but I’ve also heard varying stories that (a) the government has cracked down on them, (b) the government now considers them the “national cat”, and (c) they’re not from Singapore at all.
So, have you seen any? My two Singapura boys want to know about their wild cousins.