SINGAPORE: A facilities maintenance worker at a mosque kept drug utensils and cannabis mixtures at the place of worship and took methamphetamine for more “energy” to work, but was nabbed by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers.
Mohammad Asyrafuddin Jupri, 31, was sentenced to a year’s jail on Wednesday (Jun 21) for one count each of drug possession and consumption, with another three charges taken into consideration.
The court heard that Asyrafuddin worked at the Yushof Ishak Mosque at 10 Woodlands Drive, and was also a part-time freelance confined-area rescuer.
He was arrested near the mosque by CNB officers on Oct 28, 2022.
A search was conducted on level 5 of the mosque where Asyrafuddin was staying. Officers recovered several items from his resting space in the ablution room, his cubicle and his personal metal locker.
These included vegetable matter wrapped in foil, packets of crystalline substances, glass and metal drug utensils and a metal can containing vegetable matter.
The exhibits were sent to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for analysis and two of them were found to contain 15.53g of cannabis mixture and 14.99g of cannabis mixture respectively.
Asyrafuddin admitted possessing the items, which he knew contained “ganja”, a street name for the Class A controlled drug.
He was taken to the Central Police Divisional Headquarters for further investigations, where his urine samples tested positive for methamphetamine.
Asyrafuddin later admitted that he had been smoking about 5g of Ice, a street name for meth, per month.
He said he did so because he felt that Ice would give him the energy he needed for his work.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En asked for eight months’ jail for the drug possession charge and a year’s jail for the drug consumption charge, with no objection to it running concurrently.
Asyrafuddin has no prior convictions, he said.
Defence lawyer Riko Isaac concurred. He said his client had consumed the drugs as he “wished to work overtime and give himself more energy so he can earn more income for himself”.
Addressing Asyrafuddin, the judge said he hoped the latter had learnt his lesson and would be able to stay drug-free after his release.