In Singapore a number of activities are frowned upon, and the sometimes Draconian methods of dealing with minor transgressions have caused both mirth and dread amongst visitors. The famous campaign against long hair is now a thing of the past, but it wasn't all that long ago that long-haired men were turned away on arrival at the airport or given a short-back-and-sides on the spot.
Singapore remains tough on a number of other minor 'offences', however, and the standard way of stamping out un-Singaporean activities is to slap a hefty fine on any offender.
Smoking in public places is out. You can smoke at food stalls and on the street (as long as you dispose of your cigarette butt correctly, of course). The move to ban smoking in private cars was eventually quashed because of the difficulty of enforcing it. Jaywalking - that is, walking across the road within 50 metres of a designated crossing - is also a fineable offence. The successful anti-littering campaign continues, with fines for dropping everything from cigarette butts to chewing gum. Not surprisingly, Singapore is amazingly clean.
Singapore's public-transport system, the MRT, offers transgressors some particularly heavy fines. Eating, drinking and smoking are forbidden, and watch out if you use the MRT toilet and forget to flush. The 'flush or fine' campaign applies all over Singapore, and has prompted apocryphal reports of flush sensors to detect offenders.
The sale and importation of chewing gum is now banned and subject to heavy fines, though individual possession is not an offence.
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