These are just some of the things I have found out since living here, most are minor while others are pretty serious and you have to ask yourself, “how can that be!”, but hey this is Singapore not your home town. For me these are just observations I wanted to pass on to the those coming to visit or work in Singapore so you have a bigger pictures of the country, at least thought my eyes.
1. Pornography material is illegal, books such as Playboy included, no topless pictures of women in and form of print or media. (yet you can find XXX DVD’s all over the country because the demand is so high for them)
2. There is no minimum wage limit (be happy if you get paid at all)
3. The work week is 44 hours (how they can up with that number only gods knows)
4. Some companies with 5 ½ days a week
5. Most people in the country do not know the labor laws
6. Job discrimination happens all the time in Singapore, there are no equal rights or discrimination laws that I can fine anyway.
7. Service in the military is mandatory for all male citizens.
8. All new construction is done mainly by men from other counties.
9. 75% of Singapore citizens make less than S$2,500 a month and 10% make less then S$600 a month yet on the other side there are over 77,000 millionaires in the country, up 10,000 from 2007!
10. Songs are edited, like the song “I want to sex you up”, is changed to; “I want to love you up”.
11. Many workers do over time and don’t gat paid for it! (so what are they doing working over time?)
12. Passengers are allowed to ride in the back of trucks (damn I hope there is not an accident and the truck with workers in back vehicle flips over) but when a school bus was in a accident the people wanted seat belts put in all the buses, enough said?
13. If someone say, “Thank you” for a kind act you did for them, like opening a door or holding the door open, consider yourself one of the few lucky ones.
14. Tips are included in your bill when you eat out or go drinking.
15. Train service stops shortly after midnight / 1am weekends and then cab fares jump to 1.5
16. Under covers cops walk the streets to catch litters (I found out the hard way)
17. It is illegal to ride a bicycle with an open umbrella
18. Motorcycles can ride and park on sidewalks, not sure if it is legal or not but never saw anyone ticked for it!
19. If you are a non-swimmer you can take sailing classes and were not required to ware a life vest.
20. After the first week in Basic Training, recruits can have family visitors and receive meal from them. (WTF)
21. In all clubs and restaurants If you smoke you have go outside to a assigned area (the yellow box area) or in a special smoking room.
22. In some hospitals you can not video the birth of your child.
23. You can walk down the street drinking a beer.
24. You can jaywalk as long as you are 50 meter from the stop lights and where signed are posted.
25. Anyone selling anything on the street, coming to your flats or street performers have to have a license.
26. Vehicles coming in to Singapore are not required to obey the Seat Belt law.
