A British man, who was a former teacher at Hwa Chong Institution, was sentenced to jail on Aug. 27 after pleading guilty to consuming drugs.

Christopher David Burge, 67, was first charged in court on Sep. 22, 2018.

This was after officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), acting on a tip-off, raided his house on Sep. 20, 2018.

On the bedside table in Burge's bedroom, CNB officers found one packet of drugs, according to court documents.

There was also one glass drug-related apparatus, and three other pipes.

CNB officers seized the drugs and Burge was arrested at 11:20pm, and was brought to the CNB office at Ang Mo Kio Police Divisional Headquarters.

Consumed meth because he enjoyed it

Toxicology tests subsequently found methamphetamine, also known as "Ice", in Burge's blood.

Burge also admitted that the last time he had consumed the drugs was on the morning of his arrest, and had previously consumed them on Sep. 13 and 16.

Additionally, he revealed that he had obtained the drugs from a 21-year-old man, Mohamad Afiq Bin Mohamad Anuwar.

Afiq was 19 and serving National Service at the time.

The two first met on Sep. 12.

During the course of investigations, Burge admitted that he had consumed meth because he "enjoyed" it, and that he would have continued taking drugs if he had not been arrested.

On Aug. 27, he was sentenced to nine months jail.

Suffered from mental disorders

Burge was previously a humanities teacher at Hwa Chong Institution, and had been teaching in Singapore for over 30 years.

The Straits Times reported that Burge was suspended by the school in September 2018. It is uncertain if he is still employed by them.

Burge's defence lawyers said that he had been acting out of character during that period as he had suffered from psychiatric disorders after a car accident in the United Kingdom in December 2017.

He had fallen asleep at the wheel, leading to a head-on collision which later resulted in the death of his elderly father who had been in the car with him.

The defence also submitted a medical report stating that Burge suffered from insomnia and adjustment disorder during that period in 2018. He is not believed to be suffering from these conditions now, ST reported.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Rebecca Wong had argued for a 14-month jail sentence — eight months for the possession and control of drugs, and another six months for the possession of utensils intended for the consumption of drugs.

Wong added that Burge was aware that what he was doing was "both morally and legally wrong", according to ST.

The defence countered that since his arrest, Burge has been seeking professional help, and has even been shown support by his former HCI students.

Burge will be appealing against his sentence.

For the possession and consumption of drugs each, Burge could have been jailed for 10 years, fined up to S$20,000, or both.

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Top photo from Dimitris Kalogeropoylos / Flickr for illustrative purposes