DROWNING IN SINGAPORE RIVER

Booze, drugs found in man

By Khushwant Singh

Police officers inspecting the body of Mr Muhammad Asrul, which was found about 1m away from the bank of the Singapore River. -- PHOTO: WANBAO

THE toxicology report revealed the presence of not only alcohol but also traces of commonly-abused drugs in the blood and urine of Mr Muhammad Asrul Jumabi, 23, who drowned in the Singapore River on June 24.
While his death was ruled a misadventure at the coroner inquiry on Friday, the court heard that his friends told investigating officer Chun Yong Seng that they had only drunk vodka and stout that day. There was no mention of drugs obtained without prescriptions and this Staff Sergeant Chun said 'gave him concern that the friends may not have been totally forthcoming'.
The tragic chain of events began with Mr Muhammad Asrul, who was unemployed, meeting his friend Mohd Norhazmie Hamid, 27, a part-time mover, at Braddell MRT station at 6pm on June 23, They took the train to City Hall station to join two other pals.
His friends said that then bought a big bottle of vodka which they polished off at an open space near the station. They then shared eight cans of Guinness stout before trooping down to Chijmes to watch the live telecast of the World Cup game of England versus Slovenia.
At 4am, they walked to the riverbank near Clarke Quay to rest as some of them had to work that day. Mr Muhammad Asrul and Mr Mohd Norhazmie sat on the steps at the edge of the river and soon fell asleep. The others were seated on a bench further back. The friends said that when Mr Muhammad Asrul woke up, he did some stretching exercises but lost his footing and fell into the water. Mohd Norhazmie jumped in to save his friend. He too was not a good swimmer and had to be rescued by a third friend. By then , Mr Muhammad Asrul was nowhere to be seen. Police were called in and the body was recovered at about 8am.
Among the multiple drugs detected in Mr Muhammad Asrul were dextromethorphan, codeine and ephedrine which are used in the treatment of cough. Other drugs found included diazepam and promethazine.

Comment: From this incident, we know how drugs and drinking too much can really harm us. Mr Muhammad Asrul most likely as he was not in the right mind as he took different kinds of drugs that harms his body, drink which makes him being unable to think straight. He may be taking different kind of drugs due to his unemployment and is feeling low, thinking that it will help him feel better but in the end harming himself. Although it may be an accident, but such cases can be prevented by simple measures. We can learn to always stay positive no matter what happens, treat ourselves well and if we need a friend to talk to, avoid places where there is a chance that an accident may happen and go to places like a friend's house, cafe like starbucks to chill out and talk things out. Drinking may be common and some of us like it, but we should always know our limit as drinking can cause us to not be in a clear state of mind which leads to accidents like drunk driving and for this case, not in the full state to control our body.

Clement Juan