A Chinese tourist could face up to five years in prison for trying to bribe a Singaporean police officer after he was caught smoking in a non-designated area.
Huang Quilin, 41, was caught smoking on a busy road outside a shopping centre on his visit to Singapore last month – but most public spaces have been smoke-free zones since 2019.
The tourist tried to get out of paying the upfront £114 (S$200) fine for violating the smoke-free zone by offering the cop, Tan Tar Chuak, £29 (S$50).
If his smoking penalty was taken to court, the fine could have been increased to £572 (S$1,000).
But Huang now faces an even bigger fine of £57,178 (S$100,000) after the National Environment Agency officer reported him for corruptly offering a bribe.
Under Singapore’s laws, prison time and a fine are both on the table for breaking their strict smoking laws.
Huang said he would plead guilty to the offence on Orchard Road and has been released on bail.
He is set to appear in court next month.
A tourist was caught smoking in a non-designated area in Singapore and tried to bribe an officer with £28 to get out of the fine
Orchard Road became a no smoking zone in 2019 following years of increasing restrictions in public places
It comes only weeks after a drunk British man was jailed for seven weeks in Singapore for lashing out at airport staff.
Lindley Scott David John, 41, became ‘aggressive’ when he was told he was not allowed to go back into baggage reclaim.
He thought his boss who was on the same flight had picked up his bag but once he left the hall and realised his mistake he was stopped re-entering by a female officer.
John swore at the woman, pointed his middle finger at her, grabbed her chest and then pushed past her.
But other officers had arrived at the scene and blocked his way.
John was charged for using ‘criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of her duty’, ‘drunkenness in public places’ and ‘insulting communication against a public servant at Changi Airport’.
Singapore is renowned for its public cleanliness, having made littering a serious offence in 1987.
First time offenders can face fines up to S$1,000, which doubles if someone is caught littering again – they may also be forced to do clean up work under the Corrective Work Order.
While these strict laws tend to be well respected, high-rise littering – where rubbish is thrown out of buildings – is sometimes an issue, with cigarette butts one of the main culprits.
Selling chewing gum was also made illegal in 1992 to try stop gum-related offences blighting their streets.
Other laws include a ban on graffiti, jaywalking, expelling ‘mucus from the nose’, urinating outside of a toilet (public toilets are legally required to be flushed), and spitting.
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