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A doctor and his friend who were arrested during a raid at a villa on Singapore’s Sentosa Island were sentenced on Wednesday to one year’s jail each for taking drugs.
Dr Rayson Lee Rui Sheng, 36, and 29-year-old Tan Li Ming both intend to appeal against their convictions.
The pair had contested their respective charges of taking MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, claiming their drinks had been spiked.
However, the judge rejected this defence based on the inconsistencies in their statements and testimonies at trial, along with their behaviour.
They had taken more drinks, despite suspecting that they were laced.
The pair had attended a birthday party at a villa within the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa hotel that began on the night of August 8, 2023, and extended into the early hours of the next day.
The authorities received information about drug-related activity at the villa and officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau raided the premises at about 5.40am, arresting several people including Lee and Tan.
Urine samples from the two men were analysed by the Health Sciences Authority and found to contain MDMA.
Three segments of Lee’s hair, each corresponding to different periods of time when he allegedly consumed drugs, were also found to contain MDMA and ketamine.
Both men were represented by Tania Chin.
A witness, who was at the party, testified that he saw a foreigner crush a green Ecstasy pill and place it into a cup filled with liquid, which was then passed around.
Another witness testified that an American had offered him a pill in the master bedroom.
Lee had said that he would not have expected a “benign birthday celebration”, which he had believed to be a “safe space” to have drugs.
He had said in a statement that he felt light-headed and euphoric after consuming his first drink, comparing these sensations with how he had felt when taking drugs in Thailand.
Despite this, he accepted two more drinks.
Judge A Sangeetha said that such behaviour could hardly be described as that of an unsuspecting victim.
Tan said he had three drinks that night and saw men pouring liquid from blue bottles to plastic cups on a table.
He took a drink from this table, noticing white residue at the bottom of the cup, which looked like crushed tablets.
The judge said that Tan’s behaviour was consistent with a person who chose to consume a drink he had reason to suspect was laced.
The prosecution sought between 12 and 15 months’ jail for both men.
For consuming MDMA, they could have been jailed for between one year and 10 years, and fined up to S$20,000 (US$15,615).
This story was first published by CNA


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A judge rejected the pair’s claims that their drinks had been spiked with Ecstasy pills


A judge rejected the pair’s claims that their drinks had been spiked with Ecstasy pills.


Crime

Drugs

Doctor and friend jailed for taking drugs at Singapore villa party

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A judge rejected the pair’s claims that their drinks had been spiked with Ecstasy pills

A judge rejected the pair’s claims that their drinks had been spiked with Ecstasy pills