Of course (and I've spoken about this before), I'm not necessarily raising the subject of hard versus soft drugs, nor am I advocating the very tough penalties associated with them (up to and including the death penalty)... I just feel very comforted to know that as my kids grow up in Singapore, they will have little or no exposure to 'hard' drugs - a comfort that unfortunately cannot be shared in many other countries across the globe.
On Friday, just gone by, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) arrested 111 drug offenders in a five-day islandwide operation. Included among those taken into custody, were seven suspected traffickers and 104 suspected drug abusers.
The CNB also seized 17 grams of 'Ice', 74 grams of heroin and some Ecstasy pills as a result of the operation. The scope of the activities covered both public and private residential areas, along with industrial estates in Woodlands, Sengkang, Tiong Bahru, Clementi and Jurong.So, all kudos to the men and women of the Central Narcotics Bureau!
Having said that, I am still waiting for the authorities to take a stance on the other 'legal' drug, which has been proven to be one of the most addictive, harmful and damaging (to individuals and those around them) available today! Of course, I am talking about alcohol.
Now, don't get me wrong... I am no prude and I enjoy a beer or glass of wine as much as the next guy. But for a country where drug use and abuse brings about such severe penalties and other breaches of the law are strictly and swiftly dealt with, I am often amazed at how alcohol can be purchased at any 7-11 store, local and large chain supermarkets and any food-court beverage shop. The follow-on effect of this ease of availability, which has shown to be the case in many other geographies, is the onset of drinking in public places and under-age drinking.
This problem I have personally witnessed on numerous occassions - just take a walk around the back of Admiralty shopping centre (near the MRT) on any evening, and check out the many very young boys openly drinking and 'yahooing' - while young families (and sometimes small children on their own) are walking by...
Given the widely publicized facts that alcohol is the number one abused drug in the world, and is the cause of the largest number of drug-associated violent crimes in many countries (not to mention the high rate of association with road deaths due to drink-driving), it's about time that the authorities in Singapore thought about a blitz on public intoxication and the under-age drinking that is prevalant... they could start with an overhaul of the sale of alcoholic beverages, making it available only at licensed premises or bottle shops.
On another note, the statistics for the first half of this year, show that between January and June, 1,741 drug abusers were arrested (of which 641 were new abusers), compared to 1,456 drug abusers (including 672 new abusers) arrested in the first half of 2010... I'm wondering if this shows an improvement by law enforcement, or an increase in drug activity?
1 comment:
Completely agree, i have been saying this for ages. Yes, i was too once a teenager underage drinking in singapore and do love the idea of being able to buy alcohol at any time of the night (which frustrates the shit out of me in australia) But i feel that like many of singapore's ego boosting 'small country syndrome law enforcing' its rather hypercritical! I do love Singapore though, don't get me wrong :)
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