SINGAPORE: A woman was sentenced to four years’ jail on Friday (Jun 5) for giving her then 15-year-old son methamphetamine and the utensils he needed to smoke it.
The 52-year-old woman and her husband, the boy’s stepfather, provided drugs to him from January 2025 to June 2025.
They also left various drug utensils in the living room where he could access them, and admitted to giving him another utensil on another occasion.
All parties cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim.
In January 2025, the boy chanced upon some drug utensils in the sink at home. He was curious and asked his mother what they were for, the court heard.
His mother, who pleaded guilty to two charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act on Friday, told him that they were utensils for smoking methamphetamine, which caused the boy to consider doing so.
Over the next few months, her 15-year-old son went on to smoke methamphetamine once every two to three days, using the various drug utensils left in the open.
The couple were both arrested at their home in June 2025, and officers found improvised drug utensils after searching the unit. The man’s case is still before the courts.
After she was arrested, the woman admitted to consuming methamphetamine earlier that day with a bong with an attached tube and mouthpiece.
She also admitted to consuming the drug since 2022 with increasing frequency. When she was arrested, she was taking it once or twice a week, the court heard.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Etsuko Lim argued for four years to four years and two months’ jail for the woman, citing the importance of deterrence and the need to protect those under 16 years old from drugs and drugs paraphernalia.
Allowing her son to consume methamphetamine was a highly aggravating factor, she said, noting that the woman “actively provided” him with the drug at his request for more than five months.
The victim eventually came to smoke methamphetamine with “alarming regularity,” she said, adding that his mother fuelled his drug habit.
“The prior incident shows that the accused was not merely careless or oblivious to the risk of exposing the child to drug paraphernalia,” the prosecution said in its sentencing submissions.
“She was instead totally indifferent to the dangers of exposing the child to drug utensils, having previously explained to him that the drug utensils in the sink were meant for smoking methamphetamine, without cautioning him against handling or using them.”
On top of the three-year minimum sentence for the woman’s drug use, the defence from the Public Defence Office argued for a lower additional sentence of nine to 12 months’ jail for the charge relating to her son’s involvement.
The prosecution noted the defence’s claim that the boy told his mother that he had started consuming drugs before moving in with her and her husband.
“Even if he did, it does not lessen the accused’s culpability in any way,” said Ms Lim, adding that reinforcing an addict’s pre-existing drug habits is no less harmful than introducing drugs to someone new to them.
District Judge Brenda Choo agreed with the prosecution that there was a strong need to protect children from exposure to drugs and that deterrence should be one of the main sentencing considerations.
The case did not only involve exposing a child to drugs, but also permitting him to consume them, she said in court on Friday.
Noting that the maximum sentence for such an offence is 10 years’ jail, Judge Choo agreed with the prosecution that the boy’s easy access to the drug utensils, provided by his mother and stepfather, was relevant to his drug consumption habits.
A child depends on his caregivers for safety, she said.
“In this case, the parents did not protect the child but instead exposed him to drugs and even permitted him to consume drugs.”
Those convicted of knowingly or recklessly leaving a controlled drug or drug paraphernalia exposed, knowing a child could access them, can be jailed for up to 10 years.
For consuming methamphetamine after she was previously admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre, she could have been sentenced to between three years’ jail to 10 years’ jail, a S$20,000 (US$15,586) fine, or both.