Drug abuser spiked flatmate's food with meth to get him arrested

A drug abuser with a vendetta against his flatmate spiked his food with methamphetamine at night, with a plan to get the victim arrested.

The victim found the food tasted odd. He checked the surveillance camera footage at home, saw that it was his flatmate who had spiked the food, and called the police.

Don Goh Tiong Hong, 49, yesterday pleaded guilty to three charges for offences that included drug consumption and causing hurt by means of poison.

Goh, who attended the court session while in remand, was jailed for six years with three strokes of the cane. Another three charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

According to court documents, Goh and his 48-year-old flatmate were then living together at a residence in Waterloo Street. Their occupations were not mentioned.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Regina Lim said that in September 2019, Goh planned to drug the victim to cause hurt to him as he had a personal grievance against him and wanted to teach him a lesson.

Goh bought a packet of meth from a drug supplier for $150 and waited till his flatmate was asleep on Oct 8.

He then mixed the drug into the victim's food and water bottle in the fridge.

He planned to report the victim to the Central Narcotics Bureau after he had consumed the drugs in order to have him arrested.

But the victim felt the food and water tasted oddly bitter and felt a tingling sensation in his body.

He called the police after checking the camera footage and went to hospital, complaining of palpitations, lethargy and hyper-alertness. Traces of drugs were found in his urine sample.

DPP Lim said that Goh was charged in court in March 2020 but absconded in December, which led to a warrant for his arrest.

Separately, traces of meth were found in Goh's urine sample when he was arrested in August last year.

Goh admitted he had relapsed to taking drugs two months earlier as he was stressed and upset.

The court heard that he failed to report for mandated urine tests on 21 occasions without a valid reason after his arrest in 2020, and was placed in remand on Sept 2 last year.

DPP Lim said Goh had breached the trust placed in him by the victim as they lived in the same home, and had committed the offence with premeditation.

She said: "He took steps to drug the victim, which involved purchasing the drug and waiting for the opportune moment to spike his food. He acted out of malice and intended for the victim to suffer the consequences."

The judge backdated Goh's jail term to September last year to account for his time in remand.

The maximum penalty for poisoning a victim is 10 years' jail with a fine and caning.