Story of cities #27: Singapore – the most meticulously planned city in the world

Lee Kuan Yew's vice-like grip on power helped create a byword for cleanliness, efficiency and safety. What lies beneath this 'Disneyland with the death penalty'?

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On 12 May 2015, a Singapore court sentenced Amos Yee, an outspoken 16-year-old video blogger who had been tried as an adult, to four weeks in jail.

Yee had been hauled up six weeks earlier on charges related to materials he had posted online: one for violating Section 298 of the country's penal code by making "remarks against Christianity, with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of Christians in general"; another for obscenity; and another for violating the Protection from Harassment Act 2014 by making "remarks about Mr Lee Kuan Yew which were intended to be heard and seen by persons likely to be distressed".

Singapore is close to the ideal model of land-use planning in the 21st century

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