In two days here I've enjoyed the sightseeing, I've sampled some of the enormous choice of food on offer, I've dashed into any number of vast shopping malls if only because they're air-conditioned, I've been hugely impressed by the underground train system, and I've quietly cheered to myself when I've spotted an item of litter.  I've also wondered how free I'd be to speak out if I were a resident here.

This is in Hong Lim Park, just south of the Singapore River, but before you get excited the name is about the only thing that bears comparison with the same spot in London's Hyde Park.  The sign you can see here outlines a wide array of rules that have to be fulfilled before any public speaking can actually take place, the most stifling of which is the fact that you have to register with the local police before opening your mouth.  Even if they say yes they'll quickly change their mind if you venture into tricky territory; any mention of race or religion is out, and I doubt if government-bashing is actively encouraged either.  No wonder the place was deserted when I paid a visit.

Here's one man who Singaporeans are being encouraged to speak out about.  He's Mas Selamat Kastari, alleged leader of Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiah, who escaped from jail here at the end of last month (BBC online coverage of his escape).  I've never seen as many 'wanted' style posters of anyone anywhere in my life; they're on trains, at bus stations, in restaurants, and the one I've photographed here was on a wall surrounding a building site.  Suffice to say the authorities are mightily embarrassed that he got away in the first place, and they badly want him back. 

Interestingly there's a three-man panel investigating how he escaped, but in today's Straits Times newspaper the deputy Prime Minister, Wong Kan Seng, was quoted as saying that some of the information uncovered will not be made public.  He doesn't want too much to emerge about the detailed running of the detention centre where Kastari was held because - and I quote - "this would compromise the confidentiality which is necessary for the centre's security and intelligence operations to remain as effective as they have been."  (Straits Times full story)

Finally proof that when posing for a predictable photograph you shouldn't always listen to a well-meaning Chinese tourist.  "This will be funny," he said.  "I've seen other people have this taken."

It was the fact that he insisted I squat that somehow makes it look even more ridiculous, especially as any pretense that the water is going into my mouth is ruined by the clear path it continues to take behind me.  I think he saw me coming....