2 young first-time drug users died after using Ice at home in 2025; police rule out foul play
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In a coroner’s inquiry on Jan 20, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said the incident was tragic, given their young ages.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
- A young man and woman died after consuming methamphetamine (Ice) at his three-storey home on Jan 31, 2025; both were reportedly first-time users.
- Police investigations found no foul play, with autopsies confirming fatal levels of Ice in the man's system, and similar drugs plus ketamine in the woman.
- Singapore saw a 30% increase in new drug abusers under 20 in 2024, with Ice being the primary drug of choice for this age group.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – A young first-time drug user was found dead in his bedroom, while his female acquaintance was pronounced dead on the same day after being found unconscious in another room.
In a coroner’s inquiry on Jan 20, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said the incident was tragic, given their young ages.
Their exact ages cannot be reported as a gag order has been imposed on all possible identifying details related to the case, including their names and any addresses involved.
On Jan 20, the officer investigating the case – identified during the coroner’s inquiry as Station Inspector (SI) Farhan – said the police received a call from paramedics on Jan 31, 2025.
They found a young man dead in his bedroom at his three-storey home with signs of rigor mortis already setting in.
He was also found with blunt force injuries to his head and face. White substances, green capsules and vaping devices were found around the room.
His acquaintance, a young woman, was found with another person unconscious in another bedroom. The woman was taken to Changi General Hospital but was pronounced dead that day.
There were no details on who had discovered the trio. There were also no details on the third person found.
SI Farhan said the police were unable to determine if the man and woman had met before the incident.
Investigations had so far suggested they did not have friends in common, he added.
He said the police do not suspect foul play in their deaths as both had voluntarily consumed Ice, or methamphetamine, which was found in their bodies during autopsies.
SI Farhan said the young man’s blunt force injuries were also consistent with the side effects of consuming Ice, which could result in uncontrolled bodily movements while in a state of euphoria.
Text messages between the pair had revealed the young man had an unknown quantity of Ice and had planned to sell it.
He had invited the woman over to his home to consume the drug. Both had admitted to being first-time users and were discussing ways to take Ice.
He had called for a private-hire vehicle to drive the woman to his residence, where they took the drugs.
Two videos were found on his phone. SI Farhan said the man had been documenting the drug consumption.
When questioned in court, SI Farhan said the man’s bedroom was located on the second level of the house, while his brothers were on the third floor. The helper’s bedroom was on the first floor.
Neither the brothers nor the helper had noticed the woman entering the house that day.
An autopsy conducted on the man found traces of amphetamines and Ice in his body. The report said the amount of Ice found was at a fatal level.
The autopsy report on the woman found the presence of similar drugs and ketamine, but did not explicitly say that there was a fatal dose found in her body.
The coroner has submitted that SI Farhan should obtain further confirmation on the cause of the woman’s death. A date for the coroner’s findings has not been set.
In 2024, 126 new drug abusers under the age of 20 were arrested
Ice remained the drug of choice in 2024 for those below 20. Some 89 per cent, or 139 individuals, were arrested for taking the drug.
In all, the Central Narcotics Bureau arrested 507 new abusers aged below 30 in 2024, making up 52 per cent of all new abusers arrested. That number stood at 488, or 51 per cent, in 2023.
