Personal trainer who delivered cannabis parcels to feed drug habit gets jail and caning
The man started delivering parcels of cannabis after he could no longer afford his own drugs.
Person leaving a parcel at a dry riser. (File photo: CNA reader)
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SINGAPORE: A personal trainer who was consuming drugs began buying methamphetamine from a supplier on chat application Telegram during the COVID-19 "circuit breaker" in 2020, when non-essential activities were forbidden.
As his addiction grew and he could no longer afford to buy the drugs, he took up an offer from his supplier to deliver packages, even though he suspected they contained drugs.
His illicit enterprise came to an end when the Central Narcotics Bureau intercepted him in August 2022 and cannabis was found in the packages.
Shishpal Singh Tara, a 32-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced on Friday (Aug 2) to 14 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane.
He pleaded guilty to four charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act for possessing drugs and drug utensils, consuming meth and trafficking cannabis. Another 11 charges were taken into consideration.
Of the four proceeded charges, the heftiest penalty was for trafficking cannabis – at 13-and-a-half years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane.
THE CASE
The court heard that Shishpal was self-employed as a personal trainer and "corrective behaviour exercise specialist".
He began consuming controlled drugs such as ecstasy and marijuana in 2015, taking them occasionally.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he began buying meth from a supplier on Telegram.
Initially, he bought 1g of meth and consumed it two to three times a week over a month. He later increased his intake to 2.5g per purchase and took it more frequently.
After a brief period of not taking the drug, Shishpal resumed his habit in March 2021, again buying the drug from his supplier. By this time, he was regularly transacting with the unidentified supplier to feed his addiction.
In September 2021, the supplier offered Shishpal a courier job delivering packages.
Shishpal suspected the packages contained drugs and rejected the offer as he was employed, the court heard.
The supplier offered him the same job again in January 2022. This time, Shishpal did not have enough money to buy his own drugs and he accepted the offer.
He began making deliveries once or twice a week, receiving information on pick-up and drop-off locations from his supplier.
The highest number of packages he delivered in one night was 42 – earning him S$1,050 (US$788).
Weeks into the job, Shishpal began suspecting that the deliveries were for illicit drugs, because his supplier had changed the name of his Telegram channel to specifically mention meth.
The supplier later asked Shishpal to liaise with a different Telegram account named "Stephen Curry" for the courier job.
On Aug 3, 2022, Shishpal received a message from this Telegram account for a delivery job that night.
He accepted the job and received a list of postal codes for 27 orders.
He went to Block 807, King George's Avenue in Lavender and retrieved a plastic bag from outside a flat. Once back in his car, he opened the bag and found 27 packets numbered accordingly.
The man sorted the packets according to their delivery locations and made two deliveries – to Block 803, King George's Avenue and Block 66, Kallang Bahru.
While Shishpal was en route to his third location, Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers intercepted him at 24 Marshall Road in Katong.
The officers searched Shishpal and his car and found 16 packets that were later analysed to contain 485.17g of cannabis.
CNB officers also found a bong and a straw on the front passenger seat, which Shishpal used to smoke meth.
They escorted Shishpal home, where they found more drug-related paraphernalia, including Shishpal's own cannabis and a grinder and spatula he used to prepare the drug.
His urine was sent for tests and it was found to contain meth, among other drugs. He admitted taking the drug a few days before.
The prosecutor sought 14-and-a-half to 15-and-a-half years' jail, with 10 to 11 strokes of the cane.
She cited past judgments which indicate the starting point for trafficking between 297.2g to 329.9 of cannabis to be 13 to 15 years' jail, with 10 to 11 strokes of the cane.
She said Shishpal was "clearly not a one-off user".
The penalties for trafficking a Class A controlled drug such as cannabis are a mandatory minimum of five years' jail and five strokes of the cane, with the maximum being 20 years' jail and 15 strokes of the cane.
