Man jailed for spiking lover's water with prescription drug to improve sex life, leaking her nude photos

SINGAPORE — A 28-year-old man was jailed for 15 months on Friday (Oct 14) after slipping a prescription drug into his lover's drink without her knowledge, thinking it would enhance their sex life.

He also sent her nude photos to his friend when he suspected that she was seeing other men, even though they were not in an exclusive relationship.

The Singaporean cannot be named due to a court order to protect the couple's identities. The prosecution told the court that the pair have mutual friends who could identify the victim if he is publicly named.

He pleaded guilty to one charge each of distributing intimate images and causing the 28-year-old victim to take a harmful substance with intent to cause hurt.

He was jailed for three months for the first offence and jailed for 12 months for the second offence.

The court heard that he previously obtained the prescription drug modafinil from a friend. The drug is typically prescribed for narcolepsy, for example, a medical condition that makes you go to sleep suddenly and unexpectedly.

He knew that drug would enhance wakefulness and also thought that it could enhance sex.

Sometime between May and August last year, he told the victim that he was having suicidal thoughts in order to compel her to visit him. They had begun seeing each other in February.

The reason why the man needed to use this ruse to get her to go over was not explained further.

Before she went over to his flat, he crushed an unknown quantity of modafinil into a bottle of water. He then handed the bottle to her to drink, thinking it would have stimulating effects on her.

The Health Sciences Authority said that common side effects of modafinil include headaches, nervousness, insomnia, depression, irritability, confusion and anxiety.

Some less common side effects include palpitations, dry mouth, tachycardia (high heart rate), diarrhoea, constipation and chest pains.

After drinking the spiked water, the victim immediately felt extremely nauseous and dizzy. Her heart also began beating much faster.

When she asked him what he did, he laughed and said that he had put modafinil in her water. She then went to the toilet and vomited due to the pain.

She did not seek medical treatment that day.

They continued their on-off relationship for the rest of the year, but he grew upset upon suspecting that she was meeting other men.

She blocked his phone number but he persisted in trying to contact her.

In December last year, he eventually vented his frustrations to a friend and told the other man that he had various nude photos of her. He also said that he would send the images to the men he suspected she was seeing.

When his friend asked for the photos, he sent at least four of them. Her face was partially visible in at least one of them.

On Friday, the man’s lawyer, Mr Doraraj Sinnappan, told the court that his client wants to “seek specialist treatment for his problems and health issues”.

He has no prior convictions but has been admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre.

He could have been jailed for up to 10 years, as well as fined or caned, for causing hurt by means of a harmful substance.

For distributing intimate images, he could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or be punished with any combination of the three.