Joint CNB-SPF media statement on charging of 40-year-old man under the Misuse of Drugs Act

        On 24 December 2025, at about 5.41am, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was called to attend to an urgent case in an apartment unit along Upper Boon Keng Road. SCDF’s emergency ambulance was dispatched to the scene. The person who needed assistance was 56-year-old M. Ravi. He was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital unconscious, where he was subsequently pronounced dead. 

2.      When SCDF arrived at the apartment, there was another person there. The man, a 40-year-old Singaporean, had called SCDF. As it was a case of unnatural death, the Police were alerted to this case.

3.      M. Ravi’s death is currently being investigated by the Police in accordance with the Singapore Coroners Act 2010. Upon completion of the Police’s investigations, the findings will be submitted to the State Coroner in Singapore, who will determine if a Coroner’s Inquiry (“CI”) will need to be held. A CI is a fact-finding process led by the State Coroner to establish the cause and circumstances of death in an open court.

4.      The 40-year-old man was arrested by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for suspected drug-related offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). CNB officers also seized some drug-related items from the apartment.  His urine had tested positive for a controlled drug in an instant urine test, and his urine samples will be sent to the Health Sciences Authority for a confirmatory test.  

5.      Preliminary investigations established that both men knew each other since 2023 and had first met through a social networking app. The 40-year-old man stated that they had met at the man’s apartment on 24 December 2025 to consume drugs which allegedly came from both of them, and engage in other activities. According to him, M. Ravi began to exhibit concerning symptoms and became unresponsive after they allegedly consumed the drugs. The 40-year-old man administered CPR on M. Ravi before calling for SCDF’s assistance.

6.      The 40-year-old man will be charged for arranging a gathering where controlled drugs were consumed under Section 11A of the MDA on Friday, 26 December 2025. This offence carries a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane.

7.      CNB’s follow-up investigations revealed that the man may have deliberately disposed of some drugs before Police’s arrival. He has therefore also been referred to the Police for a possible offence of perverting the course of justice under Section 204A of the Penal Code 1871.

8.      Investigations by CNB and the Police are ongoing.

CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU

SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

26 December 2025