Doctor on trial for consuming ecstasy at Sentosa party says he never suspected there were drugs in his drinks

A doctor currently on trial for consuming drugs at a Sentosa hotel villa in 2023 said he did not know the drinks he had at the party had been spiked with drugs.

Dr Rayson Lee Rui Sheng, 35, was one of the 49 men arrested at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa on Aug. 9, 2023, after the police received a tip-off about drug-related activity.

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said that the group was holding a party that was likely organised via a closed chat group platform.

Controlled drugs, including ecstasy (also known as MDMA) and ketamine, were found in the villa.

Lee's two bottles of urine and hair samples were analysed by the Health Sciences Authority according to court documents.

Lee, along with Tan Li Ming, 28, another man arrested at the party, has been on trial at the State Courts since Jul. 15 to contest a single charge of consuming a controlled drug on or before Aug. 9, 2023.

Drinks from strangers

Taking the stand on Jul. 28, Lee testified that he had been attending a birthday celebration that his partner had organised for a friend at the villa, CNA reported.

There had been many foreigners at the party he said he did not recognise.

Lee claimed that an Indonesian known as Richard gave him an alcoholic drink which he said he had taken from someone else at the party with an "American accent". According to Richard, this person had said the drink was a "cocktail" of the drinks available, which included gin, vodka, and coke.

Another foreigner offered Lee a drink about an hour later, and he accepted it out of courtesy.

He did not ask what the drink was, because it "looked and tasted" the same as what he had had before, Lee explained in court.

He added that he was aware of the kinds of alcohol available at the party as he had made drinks for himself earlier.

His lawyer asked if he had suspected his drink had been spiked by that time.

"Definitely not", Lee replied.

He had a third drink about an hour after that, also from a stranger.

The drink made him feel "high", "happy", and a bit "light-headed", but he had attributed these sensations to alcohol.

When the police arrived at about 5:40am, the lights came on, and Lee saw that there were drugs around him.

"That was when I realised the extent of the movement of drugs, the extent of how many people were there and the presence of these drug-looking items," he said, quoted by CNA.

Previous incident in Thailand

Although he disagreed with the prosecution's suggestion that he had taken these drugs multiple times before the day of the party, Lee did admit to possibly taking drugs during a trip in Pattaya, Thailand, in June 2023.

He claimed he had been pressured by a Thai national to consume pills that he had initially believed were mints.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jocelyn Teo grilled Lee on this account, questioning if it was "necessary to comply with the Thai national".

"So today, if someone told you to smoke a vape, you would also smoke a vape?" Teo asked, quoted by CNA.

"If someone asked you to jump [from] a building, you would jump?" she continued.

To both questions, Lee replied that he "would not", and agreed that his behaviour then was "foolish".

Whether he took the drugs knowingly

Teo argued that Lee would not have consumed unknown pills or unknown liquids as a doctor.

She added that he had taken the drugs knowingly as he enjoyed the euphoric and lightheaded sensations they caused.

However, Lee maintained that he had no idea about the drugs in the drinks.

Explaining why he accepted drinks from strangers, he called it a "common social practice" to share or offer drinks as a form of "social lubricant" in a club or party, as long as the person did not appear suspicious or to be potentially harmful.

"I never would have suspected there was anything else inside...I didn't suspect that there would have been anything off," he said.

In Singapore, a person convicted of consuming a controlled drug can face imprisonment for one to 10 years, and a fine of up to S$20,000.

Top images from CNB