Porn DVDs land man in Singapore slammer

Singapore police handcuffed and locked up a U.S. citizen for bringing 58 pornographic DVDs and video CDs into the wealthy city-state when he moved to Singapore last year, it was reported on Thursday.

The Straits Times newspaper said Singapore state prosecutors had dropped charges of possessing uncertified and obscene films against Tran Nghia Hong after he presented them with a declaration by his brother, stating that he was missing “certain DVDs.”

The films, found by Singapore customs officers in a shipment of his belongings from California, included titles such as “Frivolous Lola,” “Copulation Nation” and “Lord of the Strings”.

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“I was handcuffed and put in a lock-up for four hours after I was charged,” the report quoted Tran, 35, as saying.

Tran, a financial controller at U.S. Internet equipment maker Cisco Systems, could have been imprisoned for up to six months and fined up to $500 Singapore (about $300 U.S.) for each disc, up to a maximum of $20,000 Singapore ($12,000 U.S.).

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Despite efforts to loosen some of its social controls, many tough rules remain in Singapore. “Playboy” magazine is banned, and oral sex remains technically illegal under a law that says “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animals” can be fined and jailed up to 10 years, or even for life.

In recent years, Singapore has partially relaxed its famous ban on chewing gum, allowed some bars to stay open for 24 hours and ended a ban on the popular U.S. sitcom “Sex and the City.”