Man planted over 500g of cannabis in wife's car to get her in trouble after marriage soured; gets jail

SINGAPORE — Feeling resentment towards his wife when their marriage soured, a man planted more than 500g of cannabis in her car to get her into trouble with the law.

Tan Xianglong, a 37-year-old Singaporean, did so knowing that the crime of trafficking more than 500g of cannabis carries the mandatory death penalty in Singapore.

He was also confident the plan to frame his wife would not be traced back to him, he told his then girlfriend.

Tan was on Aug 29 sentenced to three years and 10 months' jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of possessing cannabis, which is a Class A controlled drug.

Another charge of fabricating false evidence was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

When Tan committed the offences in October 2023, he and his now ex-wife were going through separation proceedings, less than three years after they got married in February 2021.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tin Shu Min said Tan, who was in debt, was angry with his wife as he felt she "had not contributed much" to the marriage and suspected her of having an extramarital affair.

He hired a private investigator in September 2023 to try and get evidence of her committing adultery, but the PI did not manage to do so.

Tan then came up with the idea of framing her by planting drugs in her car.

In chat logs with his then girlfriend, he said he had been planning the "perfect crime" and that he had "spent quite a bit on this", and was confident it would not "link back" to him.

In October 2023, Tan found a Telegram channel selling drugs and ordered a "brick" of cannabis as it was the cheapest drug available per gram. It cost $2,600, and he borrowed that sum of money from a friend to pay for it.

He obtained the cannabis on Oct 17. On the same day at around 5am, he drove to where his wife's car was parked and deposited the drug in the middle compartment of the rear passenger seats.

His wife, who had spotted Tan loitering near her car through an in-car camera mobile application, went to check what was going on just as he was leaving.

She called the police, who searched her car, finding 11 packets of cannabis weighing 524g. She was arrested and her home was searched by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers, but nothing incriminating was found.

Police also called Tan, who lied, saying he was at the carpark to change the battery of a tracker he had placed on his wife's car.

Without knowing that his wife had been arrested, Tan told his girlfriend what he did and that he planned to report his wife to the authorities.

He also admitted that he was fearful he might have left fingerprints behind at the scene, and that his wife might find the cannabis due to its smell.

His girlfriend was shocked and told him to remove the cannabis from the car right away.

Tan considered reporting his wife to CNB immediately for drug consumption, or waiting a few days before reporting her to the police, but his girlfriend talked him out of it.

That same day, Tan returned to the carpark at around 8am to remove the cannabis from the car, but he made a U-turn when he saw police there. When he tried again at 2pm, he was arrested at the lift lobby of his block.

Seeking four years and eight months' jail, DPP Tin said Tan had a nefarious purpose for possessing the drugs, "more so than if he had been a simple consumer".

She added that his plan was thought through and he had taken steps to avoid detection, such as by deleting chat logs in his phone and wearing gloves when he placed the cannabis in the car.

Tan's lawyer, Ravindran Ramasamy, said in mitigation that his client suffered adjustment disorder with depressed mood at the time of his offences, citing a psychiatrist's report.

In response, DPP Tin said no weight should be given to this report, as the Institute of Mental Health had assessed that Tan was not suffering from a mental disorder at the time.

Ravindran added that his client was facing financial issues, and his ex-wife had "taken several actions" that made him "very, very angry".

In sentencing, District Judge Ong Luan Tze said the way Tan procured the drugs showed he was not acting out of irrational anger. She took into account the fact that he co-operated during investigations and pleaded guilty at an early stage.

For possessing a Class A controlled drug, Tan could have been sentenced to a maximum punishment of 10 years' jail and a $20,000 fine.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.