Shanmugam says Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim treated ‘in same way' as others, urges S’poreans to give them support

SINGAPORE — National swimmers Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim have been treated by the authorities in “the same way how others have been treated”, said Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam on Wednesday (Aug 31), as he urged the public to give the pair “our support and backing”.

“These swimmers have worked hard, given much. They brought glory to Singapore,” Mr Shanmugam wrote on Facebook.

Fellow politicians Tan Chuan-Jin and Edwin Tong also weighed in on the matter, echoing similar calls for support of the swimmers from the public.

Mr Shanmugam added in his post: “Schooling in particular scaled heights which I never imagined: Olympic Gold and that too in swimming. I would never forget him lining up against legends — the finals had so many superstars. And he beat all of them."

Mr Shanmugam was referring to Schooling’s historic triumph at the 2016 Olympics to secure Singapore's first and only Olympic gold medal.

“I am sure Singaporeans will be gracious, and remember the wonderful things these two young people have done. And give them our support and backing.”

The minister’s comments came a day after the authorities said that Schooling had confessed to the use of cannabis in May, although his drug tests were negative.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday night, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin called on the public to “continue supporting our athletes and Team Singapore in whatever way we can” but said that he would not be publicly commenting on the matter.

“I feel it won’t be appropriate given that we will have to review the cases further,” said Mr Tan, who is also the president of Singapore National Olympic Council.

Meanwhile, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday: “Joseph and Amanda have given a lot to Singapore in swimming, made many sacrifices and endured hard training as they brought glory to Singapore. We all enjoyed the glory that they have brought to our country."

Mr Tong said that while it is a serious error of judgment by the swimmers to consume cannabis, both have since owned up to it, taken responsibility and apologised.

“Facing up to their errors is the first step to a proper rehabilitation,” Mr Tong added.

“In turn, I think they now deserve our empathy and understanding as they seek to bounce back from this difficult episode.”

Sport Singapore, the national sports governing body, had said that following the Central Narcotics Bureau's investigations, the bureau had given Lim a stern warning under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Both athletes have apologised for their actions, with Lim telling TODAY that she remains focused on becoming the "first woman in Singapore" to meet the “A” qualifying time for the Paris Olympics Games in 2024 and that she has cooperated fully with the authorities and tested negative in all the drug tests.

Lim, 29, is an 11-time Southeast Asian Games gold medallist and an Asian Swimming Championships bronze medallist.  

As for Schooling, he declined comment when approached by TODAY at his home in the eastern part of Singapore on Wednesday night.

Answering the doorbell himself, the full-time national serviceman told TODAY that he will be making no further comments on the case, and that all communications should go through either the Ministry of Defence, or his manager.

The 27-year-old appeared relaxed.

Earlier in the day, national swimmer Quah Ting Wen was spotted leaving Schooling’s condominium block.

However, the 30-year-old declined to comment on her teammate Schooling's confession to drug use, saying that all national swimmers had been reminded by the Singapore Swimming Association not to talk to the media on the subject.