Behind the double lives of well-educated professionals in S’pore battling drug addiction
DRC inmates with tertiary education and above are growing in number over the years.
In Singapore, an increasing number of well-educated professionals, including teachers, lawyers, and bankers, are struggling with drug addiction. In 2025, 293 inmates at the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) had tertiary education or higher qualifications, up from 204 in 2021. This trend is attributed to factors such as the expansion of the global drug market, increasing availability of synthetic drugs, technology making drugs more accessible, peer influence, social media, and the glamourisation of drug use in entertainment.
Cornelyus Tan, a 37-year-old marketing professional, was arrested in 2022 after six months in Changi Prison's DRC. He admitted that while on paper they looked successful, they all shared a common problem - the heart. For Tan, methamphetamine, also known as Ice, was introduced at a house party in 2014 and provided him with an adrenaline rush that made him feel productive and happy.
However, after noticing the drug's physical effects, he initially quit but relapsed under immense stress as a regional marketing manager in 2020. Tan initially thought that drugs helped him cope with stress and connect with others, but he eventually realized that they were a problem, leading to his arrest.
Experts believe that drug addiction cuts across all backgrounds, and education and income do not act as natural buffers against substance abuse. Counsellors who work with drug offenders say that addiction can affect people from all walks of life. Rehabilitation at the DRC is based on a person's risk of re-offending, rehabilitation needs, and the severity of drug use, regardless of their educational qualifications or profession.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
