FedEx Pilot Jailed in Singapore

Singapore takes its laws pretty seriously. Chewing gum is illegal, spitting on the sidewalk or littering can get you arrested. And, they don't take kindly to western expat scofflaws. Its an amazing country. But, it is not a democracy.
 
Yeah, a lot of us should remember that American kid that got caned back in the day for spitting or graffiti or whatever I have forgotten it was. They don't F around with non-conformists.
 
Singapore is also over the top expensive. The last time I was there a beer was $14 USD and food was proportionately expensive. The rest of Malaysia is more in line with what you would expect for SE Asia.
 
wilkersk said:
Singapore takes its laws pretty seriously. Chewing gum is illegal, spitting on the sidewalk or littering can get you arrested. And, they don't take kindly to western expat scofflaws. Its an amazing country. But, it is not a democracy.
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Chewing gum is perfectly legal in Singapore.
 
wilkersk said:
Singapore takes its laws pretty seriously. Chewing gum is illegal, spitting on the sidewalk or littering can get you arrested. And, they don't take kindly to western expat scofflaws. Its an amazing country. But, it is not a democracy.
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Why do you say it isn't a democracy? Voting is compulsory there, although one party is dominant.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Singapore is also over the top expensive. The last time I was there a beer was $14 USD and food was proportionately expensive. The rest of Malaysia is more in line with what you would expect for SE Asia.
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I passed through Singapore early this year, but I ate at the airport. The prices didn't seem out of line there, nor at the fruit/vegetable stalls I saw. I don't know about beer prices, as I wasn't looking for that.
 
35 AoA said:
Yeah, a lot of us should remember that American kid that got caned back in the day for spitting or graffiti or whatever I have forgotten it was.
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He broke the rear view mirror off a Mercedes for fun...
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Chewing gum is perfectly legal in Singapore.
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The chewing gum sales ban in Singapore has been in place since 1992. Since 2004, an exception has existed for therapeutic, dental, or nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. It is currently not illegal to chew gum in Singapore, merely to import it and sell it, apart from the aforementioned exceptions.

so not perfectly legal...
 
PaulMillner said:
The chewing gum sales ban in Singapore has been in place since 1992. Since 2004, an exception has existed for therapeutic, dental, or nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. It is currently not illegal to chew gum in Singapore, merely to import it and sell it, apart from the aforementioned exceptions.

so not perfectly legal...
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While I was there last August, the police busted a store (they may have called it a distribution ring) selling chewing tobacco, and I think a bit of chewing gum as well. The pictures of the police and the confiscated goods were everywhere, but it looked to be a smallish amount of chewing tobacco...maybe 10 kilos, as I recall. It seemed to be getting a lot more attention than the 1000 kilo busts for cocaine or heroin typically do in the States.
 
Q. So, what was the reason the pilot violated the stay-in-hotel-room notice and went out looking for masks and a thermometer for his sick wife?

A. His wife couldn't buy these in the U.S.
 
I hope day 1 he walked up to the biggest baddest dude and punched him in the face. wait, this is Singapore, right?
 
Stan Cooper said:
Q. So, what was the reason the pilot violated the stay-in-hotel-room notice and went out looking for masks and a thermometer for his sick wife?

A. His wife couldn't buy these in the U.S.
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Was he planning to Fedex those to his wife immediately, or was he going to wait and bring them when he returned home? If the latter, then he could just as easily have bought them when he was released from quarantine.
 
wilkersk said:
Singapore takes its laws pretty seriously. Chewing gum is illegal, spitting on the sidewalk or littering can get you arrested. And, they don't take kindly to western expat scofflaws. Its an amazing country. But, it is not a democracy.
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I went to Singapore quite a few times in 2010/2011. Here's a pic of the crew customs declaration form. See question #1. I always found the combination of "illicit drugs" and "chewing gum" in one question to be rather funny.
IMAG0467.jpg

Sac Arrow said:
Singapore is also over the top expensive. The last time I was there a beer was $14 USD and food was proportionately expensive.
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We stayed at a hotel that was one block off Orchard Rd.--The Singapore equivalent of Rodeo Drive. On my first few layovers I couldn't find lunch for less than $30! It was nuts. Then a flew a trip with a Captain who flew Singapore trips all the time and he showed me one of many Asian 'food courts', don't know what they call them. Was able to get a great, cooked to order, meal for about $6.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Why do you say it isn't a democracy? Voting is compulsory there, although one party is dominant.
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I guess I was wrong. According to Wikipedia, Singapore is a "representative democracy". IMHO, it isn't the kind of Democracy that most Americans would be thrilled about. They have a lot of "compulsory" requirements that sometimes feels a bit too much like other than democratic.

Singapore's a cool place to visit. I was there a few times back in the '80s. My last trip was Oct. 2018. It was the first time I got to see the rich western expat side of the island. I stayed with my in-laws in a fancy condo on Sentosa Island. Very glitzy! Previously, I was there courtesy of Uncle Sam. Had to stay on the cheaper side of the island. A lot of fun. My Singaporean and NZ air force hosts always showed me great time.

49243788056_07e5132f04_c.jpg
 
Larry in TN said:
I went to Singapore quite a few times in 2010/2011. Here's a pic of the crew customs declaration form. See question #1. I always found the combination of "illicit drugs" and "chewing gum" in one question to be rather funny.
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We stayed at a hotel that was one block off Orchard Rd.--The Singapore equivalent of Rodeo Drive. On my first few layovers I couldn't find lunch for less than $30! It was nuts. Then a flew a trip with a Captain who flew Singapore trips all the time and he showed me one of many Asian 'food courts', don't know what they call them. Was able to get a great, cooked to order, meal for about $6.
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It is interesting that bulletproof clothing, gas masks and handcuffs generally belong in the category of "weapons of any kind." The handcuffs would probably be more appropriately listed under "pornographic/adult materials."
 
Larry in TN said:
... he showed me one of many Asian 'food courts', don't know what they call them. Was able to get a great, cooked to order, meal for about $6.
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"Hawker stands" They are ubiquitous in Singapore. It's Singapore's way of regulating food vendors.
 
Palmpilot said:
Was he planning to Fedex those to his wife immediately, or was he going to wait and bring them when he returned home? If the latter, then he could just as easily have bought them when he was released from quarantine.
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We don't know, do we? Since his wife is sick it seems logical that he'd want to procure the items she needs ASAP and ship it to her rather than wait until his release from being holed up in his hotel room.
 
Larry in TN said:
I went to Singapore quite a few times in 2010/2011. Here's a pic of the crew customs declaration form. See question #1. I always found the combination of "illicit drugs" and "chewing gum" in one question to be rather funny.
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So.... are we supposed to circle the answer or check the box.?? :lol:
 
Stan Cooper said:
We don't know, do we? Since his wife is sick it seems logical that he'd want to procure the items she needs ASAP and ship it to her rather than wait until his release from being holed up in his hotel room.
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Not much we can do about it anyway.
 
wilkersk said:
I guess I was wrong. According to Wikipedia, Singapore is a "representative democracy". IMHO, it isn't the kind of Democracy that most Americans would be thrilled about. They have a lot of "compulsory" requirements that sometimes feels a bit too much like other than democratic.

Singapore's a cool place to visit. I was there a few times back in the '80s. My last trip was Oct. 2018. It was the first time I got to see the rich western expat side of the island. I stayed with my in-laws in a fancy condo on Sentosa Island. Very glitzy! Previously, I was there courtesy of Uncle Sam. Had to stay on the cheaper side of the island. A lot of fun. My Singaporean and NZ air force hosts always showed me great time.

49243788056_07e5132f04_c.jpg
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It is a cool place to visit. I would suggest, however, that we would be fine with the democracy. Perhaps most Americans wouldn't be thrilled with the societal norms, under which they chose to implement those "compulsory" requirements. If they cared about wanting to chew gum, for example, some party there would make it part of their platform.
 
Do they still cane people there? I know they were doing that in the 90’s as some apparently rude Americans found out.
 
Palmpilot said:
Was he planning to Fedex those to his wife immediately, or was he going to wait and bring them when he returned home? If the latter, then he could just as easily have bought them when he was released from quarantine.
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We aren’t being released from quarantine. The entire layover is spent at a hotel inside the terminal. You don’t leave the hotel until show time for your departure.
It’s frustrating being confined to the hotel and I share his frustration but he was an idiot for going into town. The Singaporeans tend to take their laws seriously.
 
Thanks for filling in that gap in our knowledge of the situation.
 
I've been to Singapore a number of times over the years. When you are in another country, play by their rules. Oh, and yes, beer is expensive in Singapore. The most expensive I've ever had anywhere in the world. But there are a number of good places to eat, as well.
 
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Have you ever been in a Singapore prison, Joey?
 
Ghery said:
I've been to Singapore a number of times over the years. When you are in another country, play by their rules. Oh, and yes, beer is expensive in Singapore. The most expensive I've ever had anywhere in the world. But there are a number of good places to eat, as well.
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The most expensive beer I've ever had was the free beer at Clarke Quay
 
PaulMillner said:
The chewing gum sales ban in Singapore has been in place since 1992. Since 2004, an exception has existed for therapeutic, dental, or nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. It is currently not illegal to chew gum in Singapore, merely to import it and sell it, apart from the aforementioned exceptions.

so not perfectly legal...
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Chewing, as in the verb. It is perfectly legal to put chewing gum in your mouth, and chew it.
 
jrcox19 said:
The most expensive beer I've ever had was the free beer at Clarke Quay
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I'm almost afraid to ask.

Go up the river a bit and you'll run into a great Australian pub, Boomarang. Great food and beer. I was staying at a hotel right across the street one time and the Seattle Seahawks were in the NFL playoffs. That game was on all the screens and the number of Seahawks jerseys in the place was crazy. I've been there a number of times since, most recently last year with my wife. Beer isn't cheap in Singapore. No way, no how.
 
From the news reports sounds like he got 30 days in jail...:(
 
Had a Navy buddy who was detained on a layover flight there. They found his boatswains mate pipe in his sea bag and insisted it was drug paraphernalia. He had to provide a demonstration and lesson of ship calls in the terminal for the police.

They still refused to let him go until they had a US Naval officer confirm by phone that the boatswains pipe was real and still in use.
 
GrummanBear said:
Had a Navy buddy who was detained on a layover flight there. They found his boatswains mate pipe in his sea bag and insisted it was drug paraphernalia. He had to provide a demonstration and lesson of ship calls in the terminal for the police.

They still refused to let him go until they had a US Naval officer confirm by phone that the boatswains pipe was real and still in use.
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Haha. On that note, I have a buddy that tried to carry on his ceremonial uniform sword while flying to a wedding. He ended up having it confiscated, and was placed on some TSA no-fly list for a while until it got sorted out. I think he'll probably check that bad boy next time.....:)
 
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