While most were practising social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, Edmund Zachary Ong Wei Ming, a 33-year-old Singaporean, hosted a birthday party for his friends at his residential unit.

Moreover, the party, held on Mar. 26, 2022, was a bacchanalian affair, with copious amounts of drugs and no less than 34 guests.

For this, Ong was sentenced to two years and one week in jail on Jun. 18, 2024, CNA reported.

He pleaded guilty back in May 2024, to three charges of permitting his unit to be used for drug consumption, consuming a drug, and permitting others to enter the unit for a birthday celebration during the pandemic.

Ong co-hosted the party with one other person, Jonathan Goh Wai Sern, a 35-year-old Malaysian who remains at large with a warrant for his arrest against him.

Drugs passed around to guests

The party commenced at about 7pm on Mar. 26, 2022.

Ong was staying in a guest room at Goh's house and hosted the party at his unit.

Guests filed in and began drinking, dancing, singing karaoke and having fun.

Some also began consuming drugs like ecstasy, GHB, and ketamine.

Crushed tablets of ecstasy were also mixed into cups of red wine and passed around to partygoers.

Arrests at 6am

The party came to an end as police arrived at the premises at about 6am on Mar. 27.

A total of 22 guests consumed ecstasy at the party, urine tests later revealed.

Ong, whose urine samples contained norketamine, also known as K, also admitted to consuming ecstasy and GHB at the party.

He later said, after his arrest, that he consumed the drugs because he was “stressed since before the Covid-19 pandemic".

A Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) spokesperson told CNA that the individuals arrested for suspected drug abuse "have been dealt with".

In determining Ong's jail sentence, the judge said deterrence was the predominant sentencing consideration in this case, and that a fine would not be appropriate.

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