[Vigilanteman]

That's where your wrong. In a previous life, I worked with Singaporeans and, briefly, on assignment in Singapore itself. It is a delightful little country which prides itself on order, cleanliness and good ethics.

Vandalize somebody's car or home and you get your backside vandalized by the law. It seems like pretty fair justice to me.

It was very nice to work in a place where taxes are low, you get to keep most of what you earn and it is basically safe to go anywhere at anytime. Every able-bodied Singaporean of military age also serves in the reserve, much like the Swiss.

[BenLurkin]

Sounds like their system has worked very well so far.

[Alberta's Child]

I saw an in-depth report on the political/economic/social conditions in Singapore on TV a few years ago. The thing I found most remarkable is that its citizens consistently rank among the most optimistic and happy in the world, even though they live in a political/legal system that would probably be considered oppressive by most Westerners.

The reason for this, according to this report, is that everybody is treated equally under the law, and is subject to the same "oppressive" treatment. And I mean everybody. They cited an example from a few years ago from a case where the young adult son of one of the nation's rulers was caught committing some kind of petty/mischief crime (vandalism, maybe).

The guy was subjected to the same punishment that anyone else would have faced.

He was flogged in public.

On national television.