If you have ever been to Singapore, you would know how very rarely you see a police car rushing through traffic with the siren on. We have been there and we were impressed and quite skeptical when we were told that if you ever do see one, then that means that something important has truly happened which needed police support… and that however that was a rare occurrence.

In fact, Singapore police face so very few crimes, that they had the time to investigate a 60-year-old Singapore man for slipping some toothpicks into a seat on a public bus. A suspicious case of mischievousness that could put him behind bars for up to two years, according to reports from several newspapers.

architecture-asia-bay-singapore“Through extensive investigations and with the help of CCTV footage, the agents established the identity of the suspect,” the police said in a statement.

The images of three toothpicks sticking out of the seat were published last month by a Facebook user, who said he noticed them just as he was about to sit down. “Remember to check the seat before sitting down, people!” He had written in the post, shared more than 2,500 times.
 

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Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and that’s probably why the police are dedicated to these cases. However, one of the government’s slogans is “Low Crime doesn’t mean No Crime“.

Authorities harshly punish minor crimes such as vandalism, which is also punishable by corporal punishment, and the import of chewing gum is prohibited, in part to prevent it from being thrown around and keeping public spaces clean. Two years ago, a smoker received a fine of over 10,000 Euro for throwing cigarette butts from a window of his apartment for several days.
 
Will Malta ever reach such standards?

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