Issue Date: 
Sep 7 2006 - 11:00pm
Author: 
Page3
Topics: 
city living

Being the inquisitive bunch that we are, we were doing a little reading up on the IMF. As most of you probably already know, NGOs lobbying inside the Suntec Convention Centre are required to abide by our Miscellaneous Offences Act, which essentially safeguards public behavior. What you might not be aware of, however, are some of its quirkier clauses. The list below contains a mix of guidelines taken verbatim from the Act, plus some that we have made up ourselves. Try to guess which are which and check the answers below to see your score.According to the Act, in addition to not being allowed to be violent or riotous, a person is not allowed to:a) bathe or wash himself, or any other person, animal or thing on any public road, or in, upon or by the side of any public tank, reservoir, watercourse or streamb) skip rope in front of a member of the opposite sexc) be in possession of microphones, megaphones or loudspeakers in an enclosed premises and should exercise his voice projection skills.d) place any dead animal on or near any public roade) talk loudly on his mobile phone in public place including restaurants, movie theaters, in churches or librariesf) spit in any coffee shop, market, eating house, school house, theatre or public building, or in any omnibus, railway carriage or other public conveyance, or on any wharf or jetty, or in any public road, or on any five-foot way or sidewalk of any public road, or in any other place to which the public has or may have accessg) pick their nose in front of small children or in places where food and beverages are handled and servedh) allow any horse, cattle, goat, sheep or pig to stray upon, or tethers or pickets any such animal upon, any public road or State land or land in the possession of any local authority or public institution or land in the possession of any private person, without the permission of the owner or lawful occupier thereofi) sleep on street benches, roads, any five-foot way or sidewalk or in public buildingsj) lead or drive any horse, cattle, goat, sheep or pig in or near any public road without having them under proper controlk) fly any kite, or play at any game, or do any act which obstructs or interferes with the traffic in any public road, or the use of the wires of any telephoneAnswersA, D, F, H, J, K are all true.How did you do?1-3 correct: Forget protesting and stick to your day job4-5 correct: You have potential, stay away from farm animals6 correct: Bingo! You’ve just won a one-way trip to Batam!