On 16 September, a 17-year-old teen by the name of Justin Lee jumped from the 12th floor of his block in Hougang and passed away.
Prior to his death, he was arrested by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers on 3 February for a drug-related offence and charged in court on 24 June.
A Letter Calling for Change
Justin’s mother, 51-year-old Ms Cecilia Ow, wrote a letter addressed to Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam on 1 October and posted the entirety on her Instagram page on 12 October so that her son’s circumstances could be made known to the world.
In her letter, she described how her son was arrested on 3 February. She explained that “six to nine CNB officers chased him down, handcuffed him and then brought him to my house to raid his room” because he was suspected of trafficking a Class A controlled drug online (drugs in this category include heroin and LSD).
Despite no drugs being found in his house, he was brought to Bedok Police Station for questioning.
Ms Ow alleged that the interrogation was allegedly “abrasive” and that intimidation was used. Justin was later taken to CNB Cantonment and held in custody until she bailed him out the following night.
Throughout this entire period before she bailed him out, Ms Ow said that she was not able to talk to her son at all.
On 23 June, Justin reported to CNB at 12.30pm without knowing that the investigation has ended and that he was going to be officially charged. Ms Ow tried contacting her son from 1.53pm onwards, but did not get a reply. It was only after 5pm that she found out from an investigation officer (IO) that Justin was being held in custody and he could be bailed out after 8pm.
Ms Ow expressed her disappointment as Justin’s case could have been handled better, and if the police officers had given her a call earlier to explain the situation, she wouldn’t have had to worry so much about not being able to contact her son.
View this post on Instagram
The Encounter Changed Him
According to Ms Ow, Justin changed completely after his encounter with the CNB officers.
He was previously already diagnosed with dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder) in early 2020 after one of his schoolmates attempted suicide. He had also been attending “regular psychotherapy sessions since then”.
After the incident, Justin was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as he became reclusive and often had flashbacks about his brutal arrest. He would also self-harm.
While Ms Ow doesn’t deny that Justin had committed an offence, she believes that the way his case was handled could have been better and more considerate of his mental well-being at the time.
She urged the authorities to set up a separate unit of officers who are trained in handling young people with mental health issues so that they can deal with those under 18 in an appropriate manner.
CNB Responds
After Ms Ow’s post went viral, CNB took to Facebook to release a statement explaining what happened with Justin’s case. It said that while drugs were not found in Justin’s home, they were recovered from another location close to where Justin was arrested.
It wrote: “The evidence indicated that the drugs belonged to Justin and that they were meant for sale.”
Justin was later charged for drug-trafficking offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act. He was served with the charges on 23 June and released to go home. He was only charged in Court on 24 June and released on Court bail afterward.
CNB explained that “persons charged with drug-related offences will not be released on bail, until produced in Court”. Despite this, CNB considered the fact that Justin was only 17 years old and “made an exception” to release Justin “after he was served with the charges on 23 June 2021”.
It wrote: “Some statements have been made publicly about how Justin was arrested and questioned. CNB has been investigating the circumstances of his arrest. The investigations are expected to be completed before end October 2021.”
Once the investigations have concluded, the findings will be made available to the public under the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
CNB also revealed that Mr Shanmugam responded to Ms Ow the same day she sent him the letter and has told her that a thorough investigation into Justin’s arrest will be conducted. She was also provided the contact details of Mr Shanmugam and Minister of State for Ministry of Home Affairs Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim so that she can contact them directly at any time.
Senior officials from CNB have been providing support to Ms Ow ever since they found out about Justin’s death and last met her on 8 October.
It ended off the post with, “CNB understands Justin’s mother’s grief and will continue to render assistance to her.”
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Featured Image: Facebook (CNB Drug Free SG) & Instagram (@justelliot22)
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