Private-hire driver who consumed and sold meth gets 6 years’ jail, 5 strokes of cane

To prevent exposing his family to the drug, Lim stashed the goods in his car.

On Jan 16, 2025, Lim was arrested at his home in Jurong West by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers, who received a tip-off about his drug-related activities.

They searched his car, which was found to have several packets of methamphetamine and cannabis.

Lim admitted the cannabis was for his personal consumption but said he had stopped using the substance.

On the day of his arrest, he provided urine samples, which tested positive for methamphetamine.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gurmesh Singh sought a sentence of six years’ jail and five to six strokes of the cane, noting that the minimum punishment for drug trafficking is five years’ jail and five strokes of the cane.

He added that the minimum sentence for drug consumption was a year’s jail.

In mitigation, the defence lawyer said Lim was the sole breadwinner of his family and he took the drug to help him stay awake on the job.

In its annual statistics release on Feb 10, CNB said methamphetamine, or Ice, was the most commonly abused drug in Singapore in 2025, followed by heroin and cannabis.

CNB said 72 per cent of new drug abusers arrested in 2025 had abused methamphetamine. It added that seven in 10 cannabis abusers arrested that year were new abusers, up from six in 10 in 2024.

For drug consumption, an offender can be jailed for between one and 10 years, fined up to $20,000 or both.

A person convicted of drug trafficking faces jail time of between five and 20 years, and five to 15 strokes of the cane.

Those convicted of drug possession can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined $20,000, or both.