SHE was stoned when she went to collect her O-level
results.
That was how bad her drug addiction was.
Said Siti (not her real name): 'I was worried that I had done badly
so I took drugs the night before.'
This was just one of the shocking things the drug-addled teenager
did.
She also stole from her parents and became a drug pusher to fuel
her habit.
What makes it all the more tragic is that Siti does not come from a
broken home and was a promising student.
She said she scored distinctions in Higher Malay, Literature and
English in her O levels.
But Siti eventually went straight after her dad had her
arrested.
Now 18, she wants other teenagers to learn from her mistake because
it's 'not cool to take drugs'.
Siti, who has a younger brother in Primary 4, said she started
taking drugs while she was in Secondary 2 at a government
neighbourhood school.
She said some friends in their 20s introduced her to drugs and she
went along out of curiosity and peer pressure.
She started taking drugs meant for cough such as Romilar and
Codeine to get high.
She resorted to sniffing glue sometimes and even experimented with
Subutex.
Her usuals haunts were deserted staircases, void decks and bus
stops, where she would take drugs at least once a week.
She added: 'The drugs are always free, the first time. The drug
dealers bait you this way, so that if you're hooked, they will be
the first persons you will call.'
An allowance of $20 a week for school wasn't enough to buy
drugs.
Half a tablet of Subutex cost about $20 then, while Romilar costs
about $10 for 40 pills.
She skipped meals at school just to save up and would cut deals
with her suppliers - buying cheap and later selling them to other
teens at a profit.
The profit fed her drug lifestyle.
The teens were mostly secondary school dropouts - some as young as
13.
But unlike many of her junkie peers, Siti did not come from a
broken home.
Her housewife mother, 43, and her technician father, 47, were 'the
perfect parents'.
But Siti said the stress of not being able to meet their
expectations was one factor that drove her to abuse drugs.
'I was afraid I was never going to be able to fulfil my parent's
wishes of being an excellent student. Somehow, I kept thinking of
failing,' she said.
Her drug addiction soured her relationship with her parents.
It got so bad that she left home four times in two years.
She would go and stay with friends for varying periods of time, and
went back only when she ran out of money.
And each time she returned, her parents forgave her.
She was also stealing things from her parents.
STOLE MUM'S RING & PHONE
When she was 16, she pawned her mother's jewellery and
handphone.
Said Siti: 'I regret pawning away my mother's engagement ring. I
sold it for $80, but I know it was worth more.'
Then, she lost 10kg from a two-month drug binge.
When confronted by her father, Siti claimed she was only taking
'less harmful' drugs like Romilar but unknown to him, she was
injecting herself with a dangerous cocktail including
Subutex.
Siti said: 'I tried to hide it by saying I had a flu or an upset
stomach. The vomiting was actually due to the side effects from
Subutex.'
Things got so bad that in December 2004, her father used a bicycle
chain to lock the front gate of their flat.
The rest of her family had left to attend religious classes at a
neighbour's flat.
She said: 'I was so desperate to get out that I called a locksmith.
Unfortunately, as the lock was being opened, my father returned. He
totally lost faith in me that night.'
He called the police, who took her away.
'While in handcuffs, I remember my mother crying and saying, 'I
don't recognise you anymore.' I didn't feel betrayed by my father
because it was for my own good.'
Siti spent the night at a police lock-up in Jurong.
She took a urine test, but the results were negative.
Her father wouldn't take her home. 'He wanted me to think hard and
learn from the experience,' Siti said.
The next 24 hours was a sobering experience for her. She reflected
on her life and the three friends who had health complications from
their drug overdose.
She said: 'It became real only when those around me started to fall
ill from taking drugs. It wasn't a dream anymore. I could have been
next.
'I also kept thinking about the embarrassment I had caused my
parents and younger brother. I didn't want my brother to grow up
thinking he had a sister who was a drug addict.'
The next day, the police let her off with a stern warning and a
relative took her home.
She started JC, but then decided to take time out.
She still lives with a relative, and with the $900 she earns as a
sales assistant she plans to enrol in a polytechnic once she gets
into the habit of studying again.
Some of her friends in junior college, who are preparing for their
A-level exams, have been in touch with her and motivating her to
get back to school.
She said: 'I want things to go back to normal like how it was
studying in school. Mixing with drugs only made my school years a
big blur.'
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Now, parents not ashamed to seek help
PARENTS of teen drug abusers are now more willing to seek help,
said Mr Abdul Halim Kader president of the Taman Bacaan female
halfway house.
'Twenty years ago, even when their children's urine tested positive
for drugs, parents still believed their children were innocent.
Parents were too embarrassed to admit their children were drug
abusers,' he said.
'Now with more anti-drug campaigns and hotlines, parents are not
ashamed to reach out.'
Parents still need to be vigilant against drug abuse as teen
abusers are more daring and also 'good actors', he said.
Look for tell-tale signs at home, like a teenager's sudden anger
outburst, character change, theft or truancy.
From an in-house survey done at Taman Bacaan, some residents there
started taking drugs as early as 12 years old.
And most reported that their 'first tries' were always free.
If you need help, please call:
The Partnership for a Drug-Free
Singapore at 1800 733 4444.
Taman Bacaan female halfway house at 6853 4371.
Jamiyah halfway house at 6776 9101.
Green Haven at 6565 6880.