In a raid conducted by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), a man daringly clambered atop a HDB block at Sin Ming Avenue from the 12th to 9th floor in an effort to evade arrest. The “Spiderman climb-alike” is a 38-year-old suspected drug offender who was among six Singaporean men arrested in the case.
The spoils
According to the CNB, approximately 1,206g of Ice, 891g of cannabis and 137 ecstasy tablets worth around S$143,000 were seized.
The first two suspects in this case were arrested in the lift at the ground floor of the Sin Ming HDB block.
Before doing a “Spiderman”
The 38-year-old suspect was caught throwing items out of the kitchen window when the raid commenced. Thereafter, he began to scale down from the unit located on the 12th floor, “in total disregard of his own safety and others”, CNB said.
Upon his entry in one of the units within the 9th floor, he was arrested.
More spoils
Roughly 354g of Ice was recovered on the ground floor of the block and about 693g of Ice and 87 ecstasy tablets were recovered from the 12th floor unit.
Two more suspects linked to the case were arrested. The officers also raided a unit in the vicinity of Marine Vista.
Another suspect was arrested and escorted to his rented private apartment around Robey Crescent near Hougang.
Cannabis was seized in both units.
This was one of the cases in an island-wide operation conducted from Monday to Friday where a total of 115 suspected drug offenders were arrested
Apart from Sin Ming, the operation covered areas such as Balestier, Boon Lay, Buangkok, Bukit Batok, Eunos, Marsiling, Sembawang, Whampoa, Woodlands and Yishun.
Singapore on illegal drugs/substances
Globally, Singapore has undoubtedly one of the harshest drug laws in existence. The country’s strong and determined hold on the Misuse of Drugs Act carries out a penalty for even possessing a small amount of illegal narcotic substance. More so, the country supports capital punishment when one is found in possession of a large quantity of drugs.
The tiny state has been effective in keeping a stringent check on the use of illegal narcotic substances. This is demonstrated when comparing the consumption rates of illegal drugs in Singapore to that of other nations. For instance, in the UK, 8.2% of its population is found to be cannabis users, whereas, Singapore’s usage rate is found to be at a miniscule 0.0003%. For drugs such as heroin, opium, and morphine, the equation of comparison stands at 0.9% for the UK and 0.0005% for Singapore.
No warrant necessary
In Singapore, no warrant is necessary for a person to be taken into custody for drug testing. For first time offenders arrested for the consumption of an illegal drug, the punishment could be up to one-year of incarceration. However, second-time offenders will be imprisoned for three years. Should the offender get caught a third time, he/she will be sentenced to five-years of punishment with three cane strokes. In cases where a person has consumed any of the illegal substances prior to entering the borders of Singapore, that person will be charged as if the drug or illegal substance has been consumed inside Singapore.