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Let the craziness begin:
"Ultra-tidy Singapore is lifting its notorious ban on chewing gum after 12 long years — but getting a pack won't be entirely hassle-free.
"Before Singaporeans even think about unwrapping a pack, however, they must submit their names and ID card numbers. If they don't, pharmacists who sell them gum could be jailed up to two years and fined $2,940.
"'It's ridiculous that it's easier for 16-year-olds to visit prostitutes than it is to get chewing gum here,' said Fayen Wong, a 22-year old college student. Prostitution is legal in parts of Singapore — and no registration is required.
"This Southeast Asian city-state, known for its immaculate streets, outlawed the manufacture, import and sale of chewing gum in 1992 after the country's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, complained that it was fouling streets, buildings, buses and subway trains.
"The Straits Times newspaper, which has close government ties, reported Sunday that street cleaners have already complained about the return of spent wads of chewing gum to their once pristine pavement."
