I get quizzical looks from people when I say one of my favourite drinks is Singapore tap water. It’s as if I said I enjoy lapping up toilet water like a cat ignoring its drinking bowl. The reaction doesn’t surprise me as Singapore spends the most on bottled water per capita in the world, said a think-tank report.

I have been content with sipping tap water while nodding sympathetically as I listen to ardent arguments against it. But recently, I nodded harder when I read about Singapore scientists studying if a chemical in our tap water is harmful to health. Did I get it wrong?