South-East Asia (Page 1,996)

YOUTHS ARRESTED FOR SUSPECTED DRUG ABUSE

On Jul 18, six people between the ages of 21 and 27 were arrested for suspected drug offences in a Sengkang residential unit.

Officers seized about 23g of what is believed to be cannabis, 1g of ketamine and four LSD stamps.

The youths may have abused drugs together in the unit on other occasions, according to CNB’s preliminary investigations.

On the same day, CNB raided another residential unit in Jurong West and nabbed a 23-year-old man for suspected drug offences.

Officers seized 3g of vegetable matter believed to be cannabis, 2g of psilocybin mushrooms with spores, three LSD stamps and drug paraphernalia from the unit.

In another case, a 17-year-old student was arrested for suspected drug offences in a Potong Pasir residential unit.

Authorities recovered biscuits with cannabis sprinkled onto them, allegedly prepared by the teenager.

This led to the arrest of two other students, both 18-year-olds, for suspected drug abuse.

“We urge parents and family members to have early conversations with their children on the harms of drugs, and to learn more about whom they might be spending time with and what they might be doing when they are out, and even when they are at home,” said Superintendent Royce Chua, commanding officer of CNB Enforcement F and L Divisions.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, it is an offence for a person to arrange gatherings for drug abuse. It is also an offence for the owner, tenant or occupier to permit the premises to be used for drug abuse or trafficking, said CNB.

Investigations into those arrested are ongoing.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS 

To encourage more people to plan for old age, the government has launched a series of community outreach efforts such as roadshows. 

The campaign comes after a recent survey by the Public Service Division found that more than one in 10 Singaporeans lack knowledge about the LPA, and nearly 20 per cent did not know how to make advance care plans.  

Agency for Integrated Care chief executive officer Tan Kwang Cheak said the aim is to make it easier and more convenient for people to be able to complete these care plans. 

“The challenge for us is really to focus on the call to action, translating awareness to them actually coming through to… then complete their LPA or ACP together with a loved one or a spokesperson,” he noted. 

As part of the campaign, the government will also roll out mobile clinics.

“There will also be free certification services, as well as advanced care planning facilitation sessions,” said Ms Regina Chang, a public guardian at the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). 

“It will be rolled out over the course of the year at our various community touchpoints.”

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“By communicating an intention to ban this unsafe practice according to a timeline, we can send a powerful message about our commitment to ensuring the well-being of all workers in Singapore, regardless of their nationality or occupation.”

The statement called on the Transport Ministry to provide a timeline of measures that work towards the removal of an exception in the law that allows workers to be transported in lorries and a timeline for when workers can be transported safely on vehicles with seats and belts.

It pointed out that there are rules stating that equipment must be secured so that they do not fall or shift during transit.

But belts are not required for workers on lorries, which “increases the risk of injuries in case of a collision or abrupt stops”.

“We must build a society where empathy guides our actions, and where every individual can work and live in safety and dignity,” the statement said.

Earlier this month, MP Louis Ng (PAP-Nee Soon) raised an adjournment motion on the matter.

“Over the years, we have done so much to make transport safer for our children taking the school bus and soldiers in (Singapore Armed Forces) tonners, but we still continue to transport our workers in unsafe conditions on the back of lorries. Why the double standards?” he asked.

“The worker sitting on the back of a lorry is also someone’s son, brother or father, someone’s loved one,” he said.

In response, Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor said the number of injuries and fatalities has fallen, but the ministry does want to do more and do better.

She also highlighted challenges such as insufficient private buses and bus drivers, adding that a wider shift to mandate the use of buses to ferry workers would likely exacerbate the manpower crunch.

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SINGAPORE: A man who had deserted his national service post with the Singapore Civil Defence Force in 1992 and left for the United Kingdom returned to Singapore more than 20 years later because of the COVID-19 situation.

Soh Choon Wee, now 50, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years’ jail by a district court on Monday (Jul 24) for three counts of desertion under the Civil Defence Act. 

This is believed to be the longest jail term meted out for such an offence. Soh is also too old now to fulfil his NSF obligations.

The court heard that Soh enlisted as a full-time Construction Brigade national serviceman in December 1990.

He was posted to the Construction Brigade Monitoring Unit at Jalan Bahar Camp to continue his NS in October 1992.

Soh did not report for NS duty on Nov 16, 1992. He was arrested by the police at his registered address in March 1993 and instructed to report back to camp about a week later.

However, Soh did not report at camp and did not turn up for his court mention. Instead, he avoided arrest and stayed at a rental flat instead of his official address.

SCDF officers made multiple visits to Soh’s address in March 1993 but could not find him. 

According to Soh’s lawyer, he worked part-time as a handyman until 1998, when he left Singapore and went to Malaysia via the causeway.

He then moved to the United Kingdom where he lived and worked in a Chinese restaurant.

In January 2021, 23 years after he had left the country, Soh returned to Singapore.

His mother had advised him to do so, as the COVID-19 situation in the United Kingdom was bad, the court heard.

Defence lawyer Wee Hong Shern also said that Soh returned because he “really missed his family” and his parents were getting old.

Soh was placed on stay-home notice for a few weeks before being arrested by SCDF for desertion from NS.

SENTENCING ARGUMENTS

The prosecution had asked for seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half years’ jail for Soh, pointing to a previous conviction for being absent without official leave.

She also highlighted the length of the desertion period, Soh’s evasion of arrest by not living at his registered address, and the fact that his current age prevents him from fulfilling his NSF obligations.

Mr Wee asked instead for four to five years’ jail. He said his client had thought that the authorities had “given him a chance” when he encountered no problems leaving Singapore for Malaysia in 1998.

He worked as a “wash-up crew” member for £150 (S$257) a week in a Chinese restaurant in the UK.

Mr Wee said Soh suffered a stroke that required an operation in March 2021. He also has kidney failure, requiring dialysis treatments three times a week.

The judge noted that Soh had remained crime-free in the period of desertion and returned home voluntarily.

However, he noted that Soh was not only unable to fulfil his NSF obligations, but also his NS ones.

He said he did not find the personal circumstances cited by the defence “compelling”, as they do not amount to a strong mitigating factor.

“NS is vital to the security of Singapore and requires sacrifice from NSmen and their families,” said the judge.

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