SINGAPORE: A former assistant professor at the National University of Singapore ( NUS) was jailed for a year on Wednesday ( Dec 11 ) for smoking cannabis.
Jevdic Dorde, a 40-year-old Spanish, also admitted to having drug items that he used to fumes Ice, or diamond meth.
Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, he admitted guilt to two counts, with sentencing for a second similar cost.
On Aug 4, 2023, officials from the Central Narcotics Bureau raided Dorde’s house after nightfall, arrested him and searched his house.
They also found a glass dish, a plastic tube, and a straw that Dorde admitted to using to dust ice with other people about once a month during the raid.
Dorde even had a good result with chemicals from hemp. About ten days prior to his arrest, he admitted to smoking a marijuana joint and that he had smoked two or three legs that morning.
According to the jury, Dorde began using cannabis in Singapore in the first half of this year and would regularly dust two or three legs. He used tobacco and hemp to roll his own legs.
He claimed to have started using hemp because he had the opportunity to attempt it and was given a phone to get it from.
He added that he used marijuana because he was more relaxed after using it because he was dependent on it.
Cheah Wenjie, the assistant public prosecutor, requested a required minimum of one month’s imprisonment for drug use.
Defence attorney Gino Hardial Singh of Abbots Chambers said Dorde, who was from NUS ‘ Department of Computer Science, was likewise Serbia’s medical adviser in Singapore.
He made reference to a report from a consultant psychiatrist claiming that Dorde was taking medication and had major depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) at the time of the crimes.
Jevdic smoked hemp to cope with the adverse side effects of his ADHD medication, which included depression, loss of appetite and increased anger, said the lawyer.
This meant he was” not an addiction in the medical feel”, but was using thc to self-medicate, said Mr Singh.
He added that Dorde’s remedial prospects were large, and the therapist’s view was that a long prison term may change his rehabilitation severely.
In response to questions, NUS said that it has terminated Dorde’s work.
According to a director, “every NUS employee is expected to uphold higher standards of professional and personal conduct, including upholding Singapore’s laws and regulations.”
Consuming a particular drug results in one to ten years in prison and a fine of up to S$ 20,000.
Criminals who possess dishes intended for the consumption of a controlled substance may be imprisoned for up to three years, fined S$ 10,000, or both.