Malays outnumber Chinese in Singapore drug arrests

Asia-Pacific News

Jan 16, 2008, 2:13 GMT

Singapore - Malays outnumbered Chinese in Singapore to emerge as the largest group of drug abusers arrested last year, narcotics bureau figures showed Wednesday. The drug of choice was Subutex, initially introduced in 2002 as a prescription drug to wean heroin addicts off their opiate habit. Addicts began abusing Subutex, prompting authorities to reclassify it as a controlled drug in 2006. In all, 1,040 Malay drug abusers were caught, followed by Chinese with 787 nabbed, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). Indians made up 14 per cent, or 294 arrested abusers. Half of the offenders were Subutex abusers. Under Singapore's tough anti-drug laws, people caught using or trafficking in Subutex face harsh penalties including long jail terms and caning. Among Malays arrested, more than 80 per cent were repeat offenders, and 83 per cent of these were 30 or older. Malays make up 14 per cent of the city-state's predominantly Chinese population, and Indians are 6 per cent. © 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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