[twoblink]

I'm going to Singapore for a week this coming weekend;

What are the Gun laws in Singapore or can it be summed up with a word "no".?

I am going to go visit a penpal, and I would love to take her shooting if there was actually a range there...

[Bruce in West Oz]

The following from someone living there:


1. No chewing gum. It's been banned in Singapore & will be confiscated.

2. Any form of firearms is prohibited. You will be charged & be sentenced to death by hanging for carrying them in.

3. Firecrackers are also a banned article. (Yup! You heard me...no Fourth of July)

4. Littering is an offence. The minimum fine is S$1000 for first time offenders & committee service in the form of cleaning up the local beach, at which local reporters like to throng & publish the offenders' pictures in the papers for more public humiliation.

5. Vandalism is also a serious offence. If you haven't heard about the Michael Faye case yet, go check it up (if I can gather any info on the case, I'll bring it up here). The boy got caned (& it ain't a little stick of cane on the butt!) for vandalism.

6. Pornographic/treasonable articles, publications, video tapes & software is prohibited as well. That includes Playboy, Penthouse etc.

7. If you need medication, such as sleeping pills/depressants/stimulants, please bring along your prescription as well to confirm that the medicine is being used for your physical well-being.

8. Products & by-products from endangered species of wildlife is also prohibited. This includes furs, whale meat & blubber, ivory etc. Such items will be confiscated.

9. Please bear in mind that we have strict laws regarding animals here. Singapore has been rabies free and we'd like to keep it that way. Unless you're coming from Australia, chances are your pet's gonna have to be quarantined for a month. So do yourself & your pet a favour...leave him with a babysitter at home. For any queries, do contact the Singapore Primary Product Department (Tel: 1800 226 2250)

10. Finally, drug abuse is a serious crime here. The death penalty is mandatory for those convicted of trafficking, manufacturing, importing or exporting more than any one of the following:
15g of heroin
30g of morphine
30g of cocaine
500g of cannabis
200g of cannabis resin
1.2kg of opium

I believe there IS a gun club in Singapore; but you are NOT going to be able to just roll up and expect to shoot!!



MEMBERSHIP
ORDINARY
Ordinary Membership is open to only citizens of Singapore. Ordinary Membership shall be on payment of an entrance fee of S$3,000.00 and an annual subscription of S$ 300.00.

ASSOCIATE
Shooting enthusiasts of other Nationality may become Associate Members on payment of an entrance fee of S$ 3,000.00 and an annual subscription of S$ 300.00. Associate Members may enjoy all benefits of Ordinary Membership except the right to vote or to hold office.

JUNIOR
Junior Membership is open to only citizens of Singapore. Junior Membership shall be on payment of an entrance fee of S$1,000.00 and an annual subscription of S$ 300.00. Junior members is until the age of 18.

Lotsa luck!!!

[Oleg Volk]

Makes me wonder what a libertarian like you would do in that tightly controlled country...why even waste your time?

[Shootin' Buddy]

Private ownership of handguns or even ammunition is illegal in Singapore. Possesion of these items is punishable by death. Most other types of firearms are banned as well. Basically you have to be either military or police to have a gun and even then you are seriously restricted.

There is, however, a private club in Singapore that offers skeet and trap shooting. Better than nothing I guess, sorta. Their web site is http://web.singnet.com.sg/~gunclub/

[twoblink]

Oleg,

How do you appreciate freedom, if you don't know what tyranny looks like?

Perspective and cultural input.. Also, it'll be an experience to live in "1984"..

[Bahadur]

Singapore is a benevolent dictatorship. Compared to many other nation-states in Asia that are simply dictatorships (or corrupt dictatorships to be redundant), Singapore looks very attractive.

Singapore routinely ranks as one of the top corruption-free countries (beating the US easily) along with New Zealand and the Nordic states according to the Transparency International corruption perception index. It is perhaps the most modern and technologically developed state in Asia as well as being an international financial center with many expatriates. The government of Singapore used to confer citizenships to expatriates with doctoral degrees (!), which demonstrates its strident commitment to education.

Lastly it is that rare creature in the international scene - a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual society that functions reasonably well without much internecine conflict. Of course, then there is Singlish! :)

For me, it is a nice place to visit (I love Singaporean food, particularly Straits Chinese food, which is derived from Chinese recipes but cooked with Southeast Asian ingredients) - but I always keep it in my mind that it is a proto-fascist state of sorts.

BTW, the members of the Singapore Gun Club (I think) recently availed themselves and their club-stored weapons to assist the government in an effort the rid the city-state of many flying rats (aka nuissant birds).

Another fun story from Singapore - it is the ONLY country - that I know of - that instituted a roving band of undercover public bathroom police officers to enforce public bathroom regulations (mainly flushing the toillete after usage). No matter how educated the populace or modern the infrastructure, that's in-your-face government!

Even the normally conformist and docile Singaporeans revolted at this intrusion and the policy was rescinded.

Exciting country, eh?

[i-SHOT]

twoblinks, I think Bahadur has summed it up pretty nicely in one word.....food!

Forget shooting, mate. It ain't gonna happen. You don't have sufficient time to make any sort of arrangement to shoot. Don't get me wrong, Singapore has an active IPSC shooters group and like Shootin' Buddy said, skeet and trap, but even so....

You wanna impress your penpal there? Learn to enjoy the local cuisine. Trust me, she'll be so happy that you like the food there. Singaporeans loooooove to eat and take my word when I say that it is the culinary center of the East.

There's been much said about Singapore but rest assured it is a helluva place to be, albeit not for too long 'cos guns & shootings' gonna creep back into you head :D

There's a reason why I'm there almost every year.

[Zander]

Exciting country, eh?If you get excited by totalitarianism...

[mjustice]

Will somebody send me a PM and let me know when they decide to tax air and regulate sleep? Sheesh!

MJ

[Hkmp5sd]

When I was in Singapore, they had a very thriving market on albums and cassette tapes. Seems as though they don't (at least back in the 80's) observe copyright laws. You could get a copy of any musician or group's work for $1 Singapore.

Only problem is the merchandise also didn't have the little copyright notice on the cover, which tends to cause our customs people to become agitated. Fortun

[Slotback]

Interesting place, Singapore.

[Bahadur]

i-SHOT:
Singaporeans loooooove to eat and take my word when I say that it is the culinary center of the East.I beg to disagree, Sir! I am very sorry to contradict you when you did me a favor of agreeing with me, but while Singapore has a wonderful confluence of many ethnic culinary cultures, the single best "culinary center of the East" is definitely Thailand. :)

Zander:
If you get excited by totalitarianism...I was being SARCASTIC!

Surely you do not think that I would find a roving band of undercover officiers rushing into a stall after you leave it, examining the potty and issuing citations something "exciting"?

Wait, don't answer that! :)

Hkmp5sd:
When I was in Singapore, they had a very thriving market on albums and cassette tapes. Seems as though they don't (at least back in the 80's) observe copyright laws. You could get a copy of any musician or group's work for $1 Singapore.Was there copyright laws in Singapore back then? I genuinely do not know. Many Asian countries did not create Western-style copyright laws until very, very recently.

[Hkmp5sd]

Was there copyright laws in Singapore back then?

Don't really know. If they did, at least back then, they did not enforce them.

They had one of my favorite (at the time) restaurants in Singapore. The one and only McDonald's. After a few months underwater, you can get a real craving for some good American junk food.

[twoblink]

First, food in Taiwan and Hong Kong have got to rank as the top 2 in asia. Thailand recently has given both serious competition.

Second, they don't regulate everything; just your life, where you can go, what you can do... (Big brother is watching)

As for copyrights, you must be thinking about Singapore of yesteryears..

Currently, if you are found making copies of illegal music/videos, you (and everything living under your roof) will be caned... Singapore now has the lowest piracy as far as software, music, and videos...

Totalitarianism Zander? Why... They give totalitarians a serious run for their money... I'll write up a report when I get back...