Praising recovered addicts and their families as they join S’pore’s war on drugs

SINGAPORE – While other students were preparing to take their primary school leaving exam, Mr Francis How, then 12, was learning how to roll and smoke cannabis, thanks to his gang “brothers”.

His early introduction to drugs took How, now 50, on a roller coaster ride with the law, resulting in him spending 11 years in prison for drug and other offences.

On May 8, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam praised Mr How in Parliament as one of the success stories in a ministerial statement on Singapore’s national drug control policy.

How, who has remained drug-free since being released from prison in 2006, told The Straits Times: “Who would have thought that one day I would be invited to Parliament and mentioned in a minister’s speech? This shows that change is possible for anyone, even drug addicts.”

The high school dropout decided to turn his back on drugs and crime after realizing his mother had been thinking about his well-being the entire time.

Today, a father of three daughters and a son, ages four to 11, he runs his own shipyard repair business and volunteers speaking to inmates and troubled teens.

How was not the only former drug addict invited to Parliament on May 8. Around 120 of them and their families joined the event from the public gallery.

During his speech, Mr Shanmugam and members of the House applauded and acknowledged the presence of families marked by drug abuse.

Earlier, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development, said he was happy to see many familiar faces at a reception in Parliament.

Professor Faishal added: “I know the journey is difficult and I applaud you for standing firm and persevering through challenges and setbacks… Some of you have even started contributing to the community so that we can prevent the next generation. of falling prey to drug abuse.”

It was thanks to her children that former drug addict Salimah Sukar, 59, fought her addiction and won. She was in her twenties when her first husband taught her how to “chase the dragon” with heroin.

He spent about 10 years in prison for his drug crimes.

Referring to her four children, Mrs Salimah said: “I was detained in front of them… Later I told myself that I wanted to go back and live under the same roof with my family.”