In a bizarre attempt to expedite his divorce, 37-year-old Tan Xianglong from Singapore has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison after attempting to frame his estranged wife by planting cannabis in her car. Tan sought to circumvent the country’s legal requirements, which stipulate that couples must be married for at least three years before filing for divorce.
Believing his plan was foolproof, Tan purchased what he thought was over half a kilo of marijuana from a Telegram chat group, hoping it would be enough to trigger Singapore’s severe death penalty for drug trafficking. However, he was unaware that less than half of the substance was actual cannabis, with the remainder being filler material.
The plot unraveled when his wife’s car camera system alerted her to suspicious activity around the vehicle. Upon reviewing the footage, she saw Tan lingering near the car and notified the police, initially accusing him of harassment. During the investigation, the police discovered the cannabis, but no charges were pressed against the wife as the evidence quickly pointed to Tan as the culprit.
Despite the amount of cannabis being insufficient to trigger the death penalty, Tan’s actions resulted in a sentence of three years and ten months in jail. The case has sparked conversations in Singapore about the lengths individuals will go to end relationships and the country’s uncompromising stance on drug-related crimes.
Tan’s ill-conceived plan stands as a cautionary tale of desperation leading to criminal folly, with severe consequences for those involved.
