Dead or Alive?

The report also proposed to introduce new legislation on the compulsory drug testing of a person reasonably suspected of having consumed dangerous drugs with the purpose of the compulsory drug testing scheme is to enable early intervention for treatment and rehabilitation, instead of facilitating prosecution

While Hong Kong is still considering issues relating to compulsory drug testing such as the extent of coverage, human rights concerns, read-across implementations for law and enforcement, resources and implementation details, Singapore already has its law in place.

In Singapore, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, consumption of controlled drugs is an offence. There is a general provision whereby any Centre Narcotics Bureau officer, immigration officer or police officer not below the rank of sergeant may require a person suspected of drug consumption to provide his urine sample for tests.

Urine samples will first be tested on the Instant Urine Test machine as preliminary screening. After a person has been tested positive on the IUT machine, two samples of his urine will be sent for confirmatory tests. A confirmed drug abuser may be required to be subject to supervision, or to be admitted and detained for treatment and rehab.

A citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore commits this offence even if the consumption takes place outside Singapore.

While a drug trafficker might be sentenced to death in Singapore, the maximum penalty for trafficking in or manufacturing dangerous drugs under the Hong Kong anti-drug laws is maximum penalty is life imprisonment and a fine of $5 million.

In Hong Kong, Maximum penalties for possessing a dangerous drug is a fine of $1 million and seven years’ imprisonment, for opening or managing a divan – a fine of $5 million and 15 years’ imprisonment, and for cultivating the cannabis plant or the opium poppy, a fine of $100,000 and 15 years’ imprisonment.

The emphasis on tight rules in Singaporean legal system on drug-related offences, especially the mandatory death penalty, leaves no room for rehabilitation and repents, while the Hong Kong model stresses more on early intervention for treatment and rehabilitation.


Offences punishable for conviction under the anti-drugs laws in Singapore