SINGAPORE: On Jan 22 (Thursday), a man from the United States who was caught with a vape containing tetrahydrocannabinol, a Class A controlled drug in Singapore, was sentenced to twelve months and two weeks in jail.
Police also found chocolate containing a substance found in psychedelic mushrooms when they searched the home of 36-year-old Harting Chitty Harold Ivan last year, a CNA report said.
According to his lawyer, he had not taken the drugs for leisure but as a way to deal with major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Harting, who worked as a human resource manager in Singapore at the time he was apprehended by the authorities, entered a guilty plea to one count of drug consumption and another for possession, with four other drug-related charges taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The mandatory minimum term for drug possession in Singapore is 12 months. The prosecution, however, asked for 13 months’ jail for Harting, arguing that he could have sought other ways to deal with his health issues.
District Judge Lim Tse Haw agreed with the prosecution that Harting should receive more than the mandatory minimum jail time, given that there were other charges against him.
How Harting was caught
On April 16, 2025, a package from another country addressed to the unit where Harting lived at Marina One Residences was flagged by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), who believed it may contain drugs.
In it were a number of vapes, as well as chocolate, cookies, and creatine gummies.
CNB officers went to Harting’s residence on the same day to arrest him after they seized three chocolate bars as well as a vape.
While the chocolate contained psilocin, a substance in most psychedelic mushrooms and the vape contained the Class A controlled drug tetrahydrocannabinol.
Harting later said that he had received the vape that was seized in January 2025. According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yong Ngee, when he was stressed, he would use this particular vape.
When his urine was tested, it was found to be positive for cannabinol.
According to Harting’s lawyer, Hong Qibin, after his client was arrested, Harting joined Narcotics Anonymous and went to a clinic for help so he could quit his drug addiction.
The judge did not accept Mr Hong’s argument that Harting took the drugs for medical reasons, underlining that possessing and using these substances is against the law in Singapore. Moreover, he noted that Harting had been a “casual drug abuser.”
For possessing a controlled drug, a person found guilty may end up in jail for as long as 20 years, be made to pay a fine of S$20,000, or both. For consuming drugs, the maximum penalties are the same.
Tougher on vaping
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, 2025, that Singapore would begin treating vaping as a “drug issue” and that enforcement efforts would be enhanced.
The rising number of young people who use them has been a cause for concern, especially since some vapes have been found to contain addictive or harmful substances. Some of the vape pods that officers from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) seized last year were found to contain etomidate, an anaesthetic which can cause addiction and physical dependence.
On Aug 24, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that from Sep 1, etomidate would be listed in the Misuse of Drugs Act. This means the substance is now listed as a Class C drug, making the traffic, manufacture, import, export, possession, and consumption of etomidate illegal. /TISG
Read also: 41 weeks’ jail for M’sian man caught in warehouse with thousands of vapes
