Littering Singapore Smoker Slapped with $15,000 Fine

A Singapore man recently racked up a record $15,000 in fines, and five hours of community service, after surveillance cameras caught him throwing 34 cigarette butts out of his apartment window over a four-day period. Such drastic measures are not uncommon in Singapore, which is known for its fastidiousness—caning is a typical punishment for vandalism, and the import of chewing gum is banned altogether, to avoid gunking up city streets. Singapore’s National Environment Agency claims to have doled out 206 punishments in 2014 to high-rise litterers captured on some 600 surveillance cameras. More… Discuss