Posted on 11/28/2005 9:25:27 PM PST by maui_hawaii
Here's an idea.... let this be one of those "Fear Factor" stunts...
As the traffic cop once said to me, as I protested that I'd only been over-parked one minute -- "That's all it takes."
"they've simply driven it further underground"
Good idea. Give our drug peddlers a free trip to Singapore, provided they walk down those streets saying, "Got those loose joints, got that gold."
"Note to self: Don't smuggle anything through Singapore."
EXACTLY!
I heard about a Westerner, I think it was a Dutchman, who was on a direct flight from Thailand to Australia. He was smuggling some kind of drug, but figured correctly that the Thais wouldn't bother him leaving the country, and the severity of punishment in Australia was low enough to make it worth the risk.
However, the plane had mechanical difficulties and diverted to Singapore. The fellow became frantic and was pulled aside for special investigation. The drugs were found and the smuggler was soon hanging by the neck until dead.
So I guess there is a risk in that part of the world even if you are not supposed to be transiting via Singapore.
-ccm
If justices Breyer, Kennedy, and Ruth Bader-Meinhoff-Ginsburg are paying attention that will note that this is a part of foriegn law that should be adopted by the US - death to drug dealers.
In order to own a car in Singapore, to control the number of cars there, you have to obtain an ownership permit first, which can roughly equal the cost of the car itself! Hence, when Michael Fay went on his graffiti binge spray painting cars, he was damaging property worth twice the value elsewhere. Strict punishment certainly gets the attention of would-be criminals, although there still is crime in Singapore.
Sounds like you'd be perfectly comfortable in such a police state. I hope the IRS applies the same standard to you.
Certainly should be making the drug runners think twice and when they are caught they have to do the time.
Not for the kids. Especially the "glass window visitation" scene. There is also a very-tame-by-todays-standards (attempted) guy-guy stuff.
So, according to you, Sigapore has a thriving drug culture suchs as found in San Francisco or New York, just underground. And what proof do you have of this bold statement?
I would be surprised if there were any drug addicts in Singapore, let along an entire drug subculture.
I have an old friend who lived there about 7 years ago. According to him, Singapore is nearly crime and drug free.
They do. And they should.
Don't get me wrong, TM. I'm no fan of the IRS but they don't cost me nearly as much as the dope pushers and users who spread misery wherever they go -- families who have to eat on the kitchen floor so the drive-by bullets don't blow junior out of his chair -- drug-impaired lunatics burgling your home, stealing your car and killing you on the freeways -- a generation of kids with no future, selling their bodies on the street to support their addiction. That kind of society may be ok with you but it's not ok with me.
I support drug testing on the job. I support the war on drugs and want to see it stepped up considerably. And I salute Singapore for its commitment to a safe, clean, drug-free society.
Uh, not really. They still have drugs in Singapore but it has been pushed just a little further underground. There are plenty in the Singapore government who buy in that market, and so a little trade is allowed if it is kept low profile and you have some connections. It is the way these things have always worked in countries that severely restrict access to a desired product.
There are interesting studies in countries (e.g. the UK a century or two ago) where severe penalties are exacted for even relatively minor crimes. What tends to happen is not that the level of the crime is reduced but that people stop reporting crime and exact their own informal justice because they believe the official justice system to be inordinately or unacceptably harsh. This effectively disempowers the government to determine justice. If society does not believe the official justice system is fair, they won't use it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.