A doctor and his friend who were arrested during a raid at a villa on Sentosa in August 2023 were convicted on Tuesday (Jun 30) of consuming drugs after a court rejected their claims that their drinks had been unknowingly spiked.
According to Channel News Asia (CNA), District Judge A Sangeetha found that the defence put forward by Dr Rayson Lee Rui Sheng, 36, and Tan Li Ming, 29, lacked credibility, citing inconsistencies between their police statements and trial testimony, as well as their conduct on the night of the incident.
The pair had contested charges of consuming MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, claiming they had unknowingly ingested the drug after drinking beverages that had been laced without their knowledge. However, urine and hair samples taken from both men tested positive for MDMA and ketamine.
The case stemmed from a birthday party held at a villa at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa on the night of Aug 8, 2023, which continued into the early hours of Aug 9. Officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) raided the premises at about 5.40am, arresting several individuals, including Dr Lee and Tan.
During the trial, both men, represented by lawyer Tania Chin, maintained that they had unknowingly consumed drug-laced drinks. The defence also called two witnesses who had attended the party.
One witness testified that he saw a foreigner crushing a green ecstasy pill and mixing the powder into a cup of liquid that was later passed around. Another witness said an American had offered him a pill in the villa’s master bedroom.
Judge Sangeetha acknowledged that the testimonies suggested drug-related activity may have taken place at the party. However, she noted that neither witness provided evidence directly relating to the movements or actions of Dr Lee and Tan, making their accounts insufficient to support the defence.
The court found several inconsistencies in Dr Lee’s evidence. At trial, he claimed he had consumed three drinks, accepting the second and third beverages out of courtesy. He testified that one drink came from a foreigner from either the United States or Canada, while another was handed to him by a stranger.
However, the judge observed that these details were absent from his earlier police statements, in which he had said he could not remember who gave him the drinks. He was also unable to identify any of the alleged individuals from photographs of those arrested during the raid.
The court also highlighted that Dr Lee had admitted in his first police statement that after consuming his first drink, he felt “a little off”, light-headed and euphoric—sensations he compared to previous experiences when he had taken drugs in Thailand.
Despite recognising these symptoms, he continued to accept two more drinks in what he described as an “out of control” environment.
“Such behaviour can hardly be described as that of an unsuspecting victim,” Judge Sangeetha said.
Tan’s account also came under scrutiny. He testified that he had consumed three drinks during the party, including one offered by the birthday celebrant. He also claimed to have seen a group of men using syringes to transfer liquids from blue bottles into silver plastic cups.
Despite witnessing this, Tan later took a drink from the same table and noticed white residue resembling crushed tablets at the bottom of the cup.
Judge Sangeetha found this behaviour consistent with someone who knowingly consumed a drink despite having reason to suspect it had been laced.
She also noted inconsistencies in Tan’s evidence, including the omission of his third drink from all his police statements. Additionally, his claim that another man had handed him his first drink conflicted with that individual’s testimony that he had returned to the villa heavily intoxicated and spent the time resting in the master bedroom without interacting with either accused.
The defence also argued that the CNB’s failure to seize the silver plastic cups from the villa weakened the prosecution’s case.
However, the judge rejected that argument, stating that even if the cups had tested positive for MDMA, it would only prove that some drinks contained drugs, not that every drink consumed at the party came from those cups.
Following the convictions, the prosecution sought jail terms of between 12 and 15 months for both men. The defence requested time to prepare mitigation submissions, and sentencing has been adjourned to August.
Under Singapore law, a person convicted of consuming MDMA faces between one and 10 years’ imprisonment, as well as a fine of up to S$20,000.
As reported by Channel News Asia, the court ultimately concluded that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that both men had knowingly consumed the controlled drug, rejecting their drink-spiking defence.
Image via CNA & GOOGLE
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