Metro family scion Ong Jenn, in jail on drug offence, gets 26 months for similar crime

SINGAPORE - Metro family scion Ong Jenn has been slapped with another jail sentence for drug-related offences, after pleading guilty to cannabis possession and consumption.

The 43-year-old, who is the grandson of Metro founder Ong Tjoe Kim and the son of its former group managing director Jopie Ong, was sentenced to two years and two months' jail on Wednesday (April 24).

Ong pleaded guilty to a cannabis consumption charge and two counts of being in possession of the drug.

In his first conviction, Ong pleaded guilty on May 12, 2017, to one count each of attempting to be in possession of 92.68g of cannabis and 385.1g of a cannabis mixture in October 2014. He was sentenced to two years' jail in July 2017.

Ong was originally slated to be released from prison on Nov 10 last year and placed on home detention.

But on Nov 1 last year, the High Court increased his jail term from two to three years, after allowing an appeal by the prosecution for a heavier sentence.

Ong began his latest sentence of two years and two months' jail on Wednesday. This means that his old and new sentences will overlap.

The court heard that officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau arrested Ong at a Ngee Ann City taxi stand at around noon on Oct 31, 2014. They escorted him to his Bishopsgate home near Grange Road and he admitted that he kept a block of cannabis in a safe in his bedroom.

The officers recovered a block of "vegetable matter" in the safe and they also found a plastic container with "loose vegetable matter" in his bedroom.

Officers from the Health Sciences Authority analysed the block and it was found to contain at least 75.32g of cannabis. The plastic container contained at least 1.44g of the drug.

Ong was taken to Clementi Police Divisional Headquarters and his urine sample was later found to contain traces of cannabis.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wu Yujie told District Judge Marvin Bay that Ong last smoked the drug, which he referred to as "weed", on Oct 30, 2014.

The DPP added: "Investigations revealed that the accused first started smoking 'weed' at the age of 21 while studying overseas. After returning to Singapore, he continued to smoke 'weed' about once a week.

"In the six months prior to his arrest, he had begun to smoke two to three 'joints of weed' every night. The accused admitted that he was addicted to smoking 'weed'."

For cannabis consumption and possession, Ong could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $20,000 for each charge.

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