Bribery and corruption in Singapore.

Singapore is usually described, locally and overseas as being "squeaky clean". People say this because they really believe that there is no corruption in Singapore. However, as with most perfect images, this is just not true. Singapore has its own corruption and bribery problems, too - otherwise it wouldn't have a "Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau". If it was free of corruption, it wouldn't need a Bureau devoted to it.

A recent case of corruption is in the news today. 30 Chinese chefs are under investigation for taking bribes from their supplier to order certain foods. For instance, whenever they ordered Shark's Fin Soup - they would receive a commission. In this way, they were rewarded for making certain orders. 18 chefs have, so far, lost their jobs over this - and, no doubt, others will follow, too.

My concern here is more of an environmental one. I have always been appalled that Singaporeans actually eat Shark's Fin Soup. Anyone who knows anything about the origin of this dish, can only be appalled that people actually eat it. The sharks have their fins cut off, then they are thrown back in the water to die. It is very cruel. It is also an environmental disaster for many sharks are now in danger of extinction...their numbers are very much lower than they used to be. We can thank the taste of the Chinese world for Shark's Fin for that endangerment.

It is time that the consumption of Shark's Fin Soup was banned - made punishable severely - in all countries of the world. If this is not done, it won't be too many years before the dish will die out, for the simple reason that there are no more shark's fins being made - for all the sharks will be dead.

The particular evil of this case - and I hope that the authorities will see it as evil - is that the consumption of shark's fins is being incentivized by bribes. Thus, there are financial rewards to the chefs for putting shark's fin on the menu and promoting it. In this way, the death of species has been tied to monetary rewards. It is mindbogglingly evil. Yet, the articles I have read have overlooked the evil behind this. This case goes beyond bribery - and it should be punished as such. Any practice which ties environmental disaster to corrupt gain, must be stamped out.

I rather hope that all involved get to spend a great part of their lives in jail. It would be fitting. After all, many wonderful, complex, irreplaceable higher animals, will have been killed, most cruelly, simply so that Shark's Fin Soup could be on the menu - and the chefs could get a kickback. What an odious scheme.

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