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A lawyer was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in jail for using methamphetamine or Ice. He was caught in possession of the drug at Woodlands Checkpoint in March 2018.
Mark Tan Teik Yu, 42, pleaded guilty in district court on August 17 of this year to one count of methamphetamine use.
He had also admitted to being in possession of methamphetamine, various drug paraphernalia, as well as nimetazepam or Erimin-5 tablets.
District Judge Jasvender Kaur said she took into consideration several mitigating factors, including psychological evaluations that indicated Tan suffered from major depressive disorder.
This mental health condition was further aggravated by high levels of stress due to his financial situation, and by being fired from the law firm where he worked.
Tan’s depression worsened when he discovered that his then-wife was having an affair.
District Judge Kaur noted that Tan initially turned to alcohol for relief, before he was introduced to methamphetamine in 2012.
“The defendant was a mature, high-functioning individual prior to his first exposure to drugs. His methamphetamine use was a poorly judged effort to stop his emotional spiral, and his major depressive disorder made him less prone to critical thinking,” he said. . .
The court had previously heard that Tan was in Malaysia on March 17, 2018, when one of his friends in Singapore, Iman Hakiki Azhari, contacted him. Assistant prosecutors Ivan Chua and Yee Jia Rong testified in court documents that Iman and Tan had been friends since 2010.
Starting in 2012, the couple occasionally used methamphetamine and nimetazepam together.
The day Tan was captured, Iman sent him a text message asking him to buy a box of 100 pills of Erimin-5. Tan agreed to do it for $ 750 and purchased the drugs in Malaysia from a contact known as “DC”. While at the DC home, Tan used methamphetamine, the court heard.
When he arrived at the Woodlands checkpoint around 10:45 p.m., a security officer searched his car and found a bag containing drug paraphernalia.
SINCERE EFFORTS
Then an officer from the work group of the Immigration and Control Points Authority (ICA) found utensils for the drug such as four-colored straws and a rubber tube, some pills containing nimetazepam and crystalline substances containing methamphetamine.
District Judge Kaur said other mitigating factors were also taken into account in Tan’s sentencing.
This included the “sincere efforts” Tan has made since then in his treatment, including his active participation in recovery support groups and his low chances of relapse or relapse.
Offenders convicted of methamphetamine use can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $ 20,000.
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