“I want to apologize to the state of Singapore for the stupid act...I’ve learned my lesson and will never do it again.”, Hinz added: “I promise I will never do it again. By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Business Insider Less severe offenses range from up to 100 hours of community service for minors, and 300 for adults.

If you are seen walking around your house in the nude by another person, you are considered a public nuisance and can face jail time of up to three months and a fine of $2,000.

Do you know about the unbelievable Singapore laws? Knowing the local laws of a country can save you from getting fined or arrested. In March 2017, when Priyageetha Dia, 25, turned the staircase on the 20th storey of her Housing Board block in Jalan Rajah in Balestier from grey to gold, residents and Dr Lily Neo, the MP for Jalan Besar GRC, praised Priyageetha’s intention of dedicating a local art piece and public comments of valuing her artwork flooded online. Sign up for Insider Select.

Up to "several hundred euro per square meter" for using spray-paint, according to the Berlin Police website. SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore court sentenced two Germans to nine months in prison and three strokes of the cane on Thursday after they pleaded guilty to breaking into a depot and spray-painting graffiti on a commuter train carriage. After widespread public outcry surrounding the death of Felipe Becerra, a teenager shot and killed by police while writing graffiti in 2011, the city of Bogatá has adopted a much more accepting approach to graffiti. I want to apologize to you, and my family for the shame and situation I’ve put them into.”.

Flickr/KayVee.INC It is a common misconception that one of Singapore’s stranger laws prohibits people from singing while walking down the street – but the statute actually bans the singing of obscene songs, arguably an excessive length to go to in order to prevent people from hearing anything offensive. Although laws against littering, jaywalking and graffiti are not uncommon, Singapore is almost certainly the only place in the world that has specific legislation against flushing public …

Singapore has also recently witnessed acts of vandalism like the theft of insulating oil from electrical power stations and the wanton damage to fountains. In recent years, Singapore has poured funds into nurturing and promoting its arts scene, including opening some public space for graffiti, as it works to change the city-state’s image beyond just an efficient business hub. Seems like the wording is a bit ambiguous for what constitutes an “annoyance”. Flickr/Kanghee Rhee Depending on how much damage a writer does, they can be fined anywhere between 750 to 1500 euros.

If you’re caught doing the deed, you can be fined a whopping $10,000, face up to three years in jail, or both. People who have been caned have called the pain excruciating. They then fled Singapore, only to be tracked down in neighboring Malaysia in an international manhunt and were brought back to the city-state to face trial. “There’s a lot of discretion with these cases. In a different case of vandalism, civil rights activist Jolovan Wham was charged for pasting two sheets of A-4 paper on an MRT train panel in November 2017. In the interests of the nation, it is therefore necessary that the minority who cause damage should be dealt with severely. According to Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor, Maria Miller, a graffiti writer in Detroit who causes damage amounting to more than $1,000 and less than $20,000 can face anything from probation to 5 years in jail. We've put together a list of 16 things you might be surprised to find are illegal in the country, from singing offensive songs to spitting. If you damage the property of another person, which is considered an act of criminal mischief, the crime is considered a Class C felony if the property damage exceeds $250 in damage, or it could be a Class D felony if the damages exceed $1,500. Flaunting the values of his ideology, he is quite prepared to make a martyr of himself and go to gaol. This week, Hopes&Fears looks at how cities handle graffiti, from the toughest consequences to cities that question the crime's validity entirely. Singapore’s vandalism laws became global news in 1994 when American teenager Michael Fay was caned for damaging cars and public property, …

The distribution of any materials deemed "obscene" is prohibited in Singapore. Despite the city of Berlin’s efforts, graffiti remains a part of the city's landscape. “This is the darkest episode of my entire life,” said Von Knorre. The exact statute states “Any person who makes any noise by any instrument or other means in such a manner as to cause or be likely to cause annoyance or inconvenience … shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000”.

If you’re thinking of heading to Singapore, you should be aware that the country has important regulations, some of which may seem harsh. He said: Conversely, to compel the courts to admit in every vandalism case involving paint, a plethora of evidence on the delibility or otherwise of the paint used in the offence, seemed to me to be throwing the floodgates open to endless and increasingly convoluted arguments about the exact scientific degree of ease with which any particular type of paint is removed: it is the sort of absurdity virtually guaranteed to thwart the legislative intent, as stated in the preamble, of providing for "exemplary punishment for acts of vandalism". Jaywalkers can receive a $20 fine on the spot, a fine of up to $1,000, or three months of jail time. Accepted file types: jpg, png, pdf, doc, docx, jpeg, gif. Forget about public indecency, in Singapore you need to be mindful of private indecency! since. You might not think it's a big deal to toss your leftover sandwich bread to pigeons, but think twice when you're in Singapore because feeding the birds here will cost you $500. Caning is a form of corporal punishment where the convicted person is whipped on the bare skin with a cane comprised of rattan. If you break into a landmark, it becomes burglary, as burglary is entering any premise with the intent to commit a crime or commit an act criminal mischief. ... [A] fine will not deter the type of criminal we are facing here.

We'll do our best to work within your schedule. Singapore’s vandalism laws became global news in 1994 when American teenager Michael Fay was caned for damaging cars and public property, despite appeals for clemency from the U.S. government, including then President Bill Clinton. Let’s say you deface someone’s fence. Graffiti Flickr/Ton Nolles In Singapore, vandalism can get you both arrested and caned.

However, Chief Justice Yong Pung How took the view that it was "too simplistic" to claim that the Act was aimed mainly at punishing riotous anti-national elements: "That may have been one of the more urgent objectives at the time the Act was enacted in 1966 but a reading of the relevant Parliamentary Debates shows that the Legislature was simultaneously concerned with containing anti-social acts of hooliganism."[9]. [26] A warrant of arrest for Lloyd has been issued by a court, and the authorities will seek to extradite him to stand trial in Singapore if there is an extradition treaty between Singapore and the country where he is found. Historical buildings and homes are protected, however. In this week’s City Index, we found cities that want to scare the hell out of people with draconian laws and cities that are questioning the wisdom of trying to police graffiti at all.

Twenty other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing purposes, 16 of them charges of vandalism committed with paint. [29], Five youths were charged with vandalism for spray painting a large flat wall panel on the top of the block with expletives directed against the ruling party.

But if the tag went up in a more high risk or sensitive location, the charge could border on burglary or trespassing charges. Vandalism was originally prohibited by the Minor Offences Act, which made it punishable by a fine of up to S$50 and/or a week in jail.

If you commit several acts of vandalism in a neighborhood that has one dominant ethnicity, depending on the tag they could call it a hate crime, but the act would have to be offensive.

You shouldn’t litter in any country and it isn’t uncommon for littering to be against the law, but in Singapore, you’ll find yourself paying a $1,000 fine for it. According to Singapore Statutes Online, the first-time penalty for the selling of gum can be as high as $100,000 or a prison sentence of up to two years. On appeal to the High Court, Fay's counsel argued that the Act, properly interpreted, showed that Parliament had not intended to punish all acts of vandalism using paint with caning, and that in each case the court had to determine if the paint used was easily removable or not before deciding whether to sentence the defendant to caning.