Drug abuser hosted Ecstasy party in condo unit
Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, a man co-hosted a birthday party in a unit at The Springs condominium in Moulmein Rise, where a majority of the 34 guests consumed Ecstasy.
The prosecution said that Edmund Zachary Ong Wei Ming had rented a room in the apartment from Malaysian Jonathan Goh Wai Sern, 35, who is now on the run with a warrant of arrest issued against him.
Ong, 33, a Singaporean, pleaded guilty on May 27 to one count each of ketamine consumption and allowing guests to enter the unit, even though a maximum of only five people were allowed to do so at the time because of Covid-19 restrictions.
He also admitted that he had allowed the unit to be used for drug consumption.
Two other drug consumption charges involving Ecstasy and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) will be considered during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Quek Lu Yi told the court that Goh and Ong had hosted the birthday party for one Tan Chun Yeow, which started at around 7pm on March 26, 2022.
Thirty-four guests turned up at the gathering, where they ate, danced, sang karaoke and consumed alcohol and drugs.
DPP Quek added: “The accused admitted that there were a few cups of red wine mixed with crushed tablets of Ecstasy... which were being passed around and consumed by the attendees. There were also tablets of Ecstasy being consumed.
“He knew that others at the party were consuming drugs, including Ecstasy, and allowed this to continue.”
At around 6am on March 27, police officers arrived at the unit to arrest Ong, Goh and all 34 guests.
Ong’s urine samples were later found to contain traces of ketamine, Ecstasy and GHB.
He told investigators that he had been consuming these drugs since before the pandemic as he was “stressed”.
Twenty-two of the guests, including Tan, were also found with traces of Ecstasy in their urine samples. Court documents did not disclose the outcomes of their cases.
On May 27, DPP Quek urged the court to sentence Ong to up to two years and two weeks’ jail, adding: “The purpose of the gathering was frivolous... The gathering lasted for a significant amount of time of about 11 hours, and only ended when the police raided the (unit).”
Ong is expected to be sentenced on June 18.
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