Sex a no-no as 168 publications
banned
South China Morning Post. Feb
23, 1998.
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Singapore
RESPONDING to a debate in Parliament last week, the government
released its list of banned publications yesterday.
The Sunday Times reported 90 per cent of the 168 prohibited publications are either sexually explicit or promote a promiscuous lifestyle.
The list includes well-known pornographic magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse, along with less likely periodicals such as Cosmopolitan, which was banned in the mid-1980s because of its articles on sex.
While smut is the main target of the regulations, religion and politics are also represented on the list.
The government has been careful to avoid inflaming religious or ethnic differences in its diverse populace ever since the People's Action Party began its iron-fisted rule of the island republic in 1965.
The country's Undesirable Publications Act defines what is obscene and objectionable, and prescribes specific punishments for trafficking and possession.
Lawmakers passed an amendment to the act last Thursday extending restrictions to electronic media, including CD-ROMS, computer graphics, digital sound and pictures.
The law also increased fines fivefold for selling banned publications to a maximum of S$10,000. The punishment for possession of prohibited material was doubled to S$2,000.
Regulations against accessing, posting or distributing pornography on the Internet also exist.
Published in the South China Morning Post. Feb 23, 1998