Lee, 22, could never forget how his life came to a standstill. When he learned he would be imprisoned 6 months for drug consumption, all he could do was plead guilty and accept fate. “I went through the five stages of grief,” admitted Lee, currently a social work undergraduate at National University of Singapore.

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The 22-year-old revealed he first mixed with bad company during National Service (NS) due to stress, loneliness and ostracisation. “The only way for me to find friends was outside,” Lee said, and “along the way I got to know some people.”

However, he did not know what he had gotten himself into until it was too late.

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While inebriated during a social gathering at someone’s place, Lee unwittingly allowed one of his “friends”, who like everyone else was already partaking in the consumption of drugs, to inject him with an unknown narcotic. 

Initially, he felt fine. But on his way to camp, he began feeling unwell. “[While in camp,] I suddenly felt my heart rate drop. I was very scared, so I quickly went into the toilet,” Lee said, “I was hyperventilating, vomiting … and I fainted a few times in the toilet.”

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He knew that if he sought help, he would get caught. But if he didn’t, he would die.

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“At that point I was like ‘I don’t want to die’, so I called my friend to save me,” Lee said.

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Luckily, being a full-time National Serviceman, Lee was charged for disgraceful misconduct under martial court instead of drug consumption in civil court. 

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This was a blessing for Lee as his sentence would not appear in his civil record, unlike if he was charged for drug consumption in civil court, which would not only appear on his civil record, but is also viewed much more negatively than disgraceful misconduct.

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Surprisingly, most of Lee’s friends took the news of him getting jailed for drug consumption positively. “They’re very glad that at least I didn’t die,” he said with deadpan humour.

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One of Lee’s closest friends Mok, 22, said: “I was actually quite shocked because I wouldn’t have expected a close friend to be taking drugs, let alone having to face time.” But he got over the initial shock and treats it as part and parcel of different people’s life experiences.

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Chen, 29, another of Lee’s close friends, said: “I played it cool and tried my best to empathise and to encourage him that he’s in a better place and not to give up on his recovery journey.” Kenneth added, “[I wanted] to assure him that knowing that he was incarcerated did not change my perception of him as a person.”

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Likewise, his family was supportive. His mum merely asked, “What happened?” When asked about his current relationship with his family, Lee said, “I got closer to my family and I’m able to share my feelings more."