Jail for man who co-hosted drug-filled party for 36 during Covid-19 pandemic
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Edmund Zachary Ong Wei Ming co-hosted the party in March 2022 despite Covid-19 restrictions, which limited group sizes to a maximum of five people.
PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – A man who hosted a house party for 36 people where various drugs, including Ecstasy, were shared has been sentenced to jail of two years and one week.
Edmund Zachary Ong Wei Ming co-hosted the party in March 2022 despite Covid-19 restrictions,
The 33-year-old was handed the sentence on June 18 after pleading guilty in May to three charges.
They include one count of ketamine consumption, for which he was jailed for one year. This is the minimum sentence for the offence.
Ong also received two years’ jail for allowing the unit to be used for drug consumption, and one week’s jail for breaching Covid-19 restrictions.
The consumption sentence was ordered to run concurrently with the other two sentences.
Two other drug consumption charges were taken into consideration during his sentencing.
District Judge Crystal Tan said deterrence was the predominant consideration in sentencing Ong.
She said the custodial threshold was crossed in the case, but noted that Ong did not have a prior criminal record and had pleaded guilty.
Ong co-hosted the birthday party at a unit at The Springs condominium in Moulmein Rise with Jonathan Goh Wai Sern.
He had been renting a room there from Goh, Deputy Public Prosecutor Quek Lu Yi told the court at the hearing earlier.
The 35-year-old Goh, a Malaysian, was previously reported to be on the run, with a warrant of arrest issued against him.
The pair had hosted a party for Tan Chun Yeow. It started at around 7pm on March 26, 2022, with 34 guests turning up.
At the party, they all ate, danced, sang karaoke and consumed alcohol and drugs.
DPP Quek said: “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 the 34 guests.
Ong’s urine samples were later found to contain traces of ketamine, Ecstasy and gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as GHB.
He told investigators he started using the drugs before the pandemic because he was “stressed”.
The court heard that traces of Ecstasy were found in the urine samples of Tan and 21 guests.
In response to a query from The Straits Times, a Central Narcotics Bureau spokesperson said on June 18 that everyone who was arrested for suspected drug abuse has been dealt with.
