A common question I get when talking to Americans about Singapore regards our laws — yes, it is illegal for you to sell or buy chewing gum in Singapore. But, it is not illegal to consume it, and no one is going to cane you for chewing gum. Come on, people. I understand the idea of caning is archaic for most Americans, but it is not Halloween candy. We do not just hand it out.
Corporal punishment, however, is a reality. Especially our infamous death penalty.
Coming to the United States, especially Massachusetts where marijuana is decriminalized, was a real shock for me because of the stark contrast of how drugs are treated in Singapore.
In Singapore, drug trafficking, importing, exporting and manufacturing drugs are crimes that carry the death penalty. But the death penalty is at the discretion of judges and not meted out every time. With most drug related crimes in Singapore, life imprisonment and caning are the more common punishments. For example, there were no executions between 2012 and 2013, and only two in 2014.
Caning is a lot more common. Caning is usually meted out for more serious crimes. For example, most drug related cases, sexual abuse cases and illegal money-lending cases are some examples of offenses that one would receive caning for. The number of strokes is at the discretion of the judges who analyze each case on its own merits and compare them with previous precedents. Caning is restricted to only males, and they must be below the age of 50. If a male is sentenced to death, he will not receive any caning on top of that.
You can go to prison in Singapore for just consuming drugs, including marijuana. Even if you are not in Singapore, when you consume it, if you come to Singapore with traces of any controlled substance in your urine, you can still be charged as if you had taken them in Singapore. So yes, we take drugs very seriously.
We are not nearly as intolerant of alcohol. The legal drinking age in Singapore is 18. Underage drinking is taken very seriously but it is not as rampant to begin with. Realistically if you are caught drinking under the age of 18 in Singapore, you are probably not going to be arrested for it as long as you were not being a public nuisance. More likely than not, they would just call your legal guardians and let you off with a warning.
But as far as I know here, if I am caught drinking underage at a party, it could go on my record, and I could be deported. I could also be prevented from coming back to the states until I am 21 years old or for a certain number of years. That is extremely serious, considering if I was caught with marijuana, I would probably just face a fine depending on the amount. I would have other ramifications when returning home, but at least I would not be deported and banned from returning to America.
In Singapore, you are allowed to drive, smoke and drink at the age of 18 and vote when you are 21. Here, however, you can drive when you are 16, vote when you are 18 but only drink at 21. I come from an Asian society, which is considered much more conservative. Imagine my shock when I realized that here in the states, they let you choose your leaders and operate vehicles before they let you purchase alcohol. It didn’t make sense to me when I first learned the fact, and it still doesn’t.
Often, I have been asked how I could stomach the corporal punishments in Singapore. I find that question so offensive. I have been asked this by people who could not even point Singapore out on the map, let alone visit the country. Before asking such questions, it would be wise to consider the high safety levels in Singapore and the lengths we go to keep it that way.
Singapore is in Southeast Asia, surrounded by countries drowning in drugs and crime. Yet, we consistently rank as the top 10 countries with the lowest crime rates. Ask anyone in Singapore and they will tell you we manage it because of effective policing, extensive technology use and laws and punishments that effectively deter.
You have your priorities and we have ours: Singapore’s is drugs, yours is underage alcohol purchase and consumption. I respect this. Even though I have been drinking legally in Singapore for almost two years now, I do not do it here because I respect that it is the law here. I find it ridiculous on a personal level, but I still respect it. So respect our laws, and the way we choose to punish the ones who flout them. So far, it’s worked out pretty well for us.