WALKING Bournemouth's central streets in that hiatus between office hours ending, and pubbing and clubbing hours beginning, thousands of little white blots on the landscape are all too apparent.

Not one square foot of Old Christchurch Road's pedestrianised precincts remains unblemished by the scourge of... chewing gum.

In a bid to prick the consciences of chewers across the town, boards have been put up on lampposts for the deposit of exhausted gum.

Many applaud the sentiment, even if the idea is a little, well, er...tacky?

But it's not like this everywhere. There is a land where littering is virtually unheard of, gum is as illegal as the hardest of drugs and a sense of national pride (not to mention fear of draconian punishments) keeps pavements spotless - literally.

It's not just an urban myth. Chewing gum is illegal in the beautiful city state of Singapore, sitting on the southern end of Malaysian peninsula, just 85 miles north of the equator.

That's not to say the actual act of chewing gum is illegal. It isn't. But since January 1992 the manufacture, import, and sale of the stuff is. And that amounts to the same thing.

The penalty for illegally importing chewing gum into the country is, for a first offence, up to S$100,000 (£36,730), two years' jail or a combination of both. For a second offence, should you not have learned your lesson, that escalates to S$200,000 (£73,460), three years' jail or a combination of both.

To maintain the clean and green city, there are strict laws against littering of any kind.

First-time offenders face a fine of up to S$1,000. For repeat offenders it's a fine of up to S$2,000 (£734) and a Corrective Work Order, which requires litterbugs to spend a few hours cleaning a public place, like a park.

Smoking is not allowed in public buses, taxis, lifts, theatres, cinemas, government offices, or in air-conditioned restaurants and shopping centres.

And that means no cigarrette butts lying in the gutters. First-time offenders face a maximum fine of S$1,000 (£367).

And if you think 12 of your peers will take pity on you and be lenient, think again. There are no jury trials in Singapore. Judges hear cases and decide sentencing.

The Singapore success story is an unwritten bargain between its people and the government. The deal is, essentially, the loss of a certain amount of freedom in return for high levels of affluence, comfort and cleanliness.

Ex-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew once said: "When you are hungry, when you lack basic services, freedom, human rights and democracy do not add up to much."

Our western liberal ideology bridles at such strict measures. But it is our western liberal states which look a state.

Singapore's strict punishments are rarely used. Singaporeans have learned the laws are for their own good and have a pride in their country and a collective willingness not to spoil it.

If all this sounds a bit extreme, I suggest you try it. I've been to Singapore twice and the city is astounding, if a little bland.

But if it means I can walk the streets at night without fear of attack - something Bournemouth can't offer these days - and I can catch a scrupulously clean tube train free of graffiti, then I for one will take bland every time.