From the Singapore Straits Times
straits@cyberway.com.sg
http://straitstimes.asia1.com/
January 1, 1999

A JOBLESS man who defied narcotics officers by peeing in his trousers rather than provide a urine sample has been sentenced to six years’ jail and three strokes of the cane.

Later investigations showed that Loke Tuck Fatt, 39, had taken heroin.

The Central Narcotics Bureau highlighted the case on Wednesday. Loke is the first person to be sentenced under the Long Term Imprisonment rule for failing to provide a urine sample.

The bureau’s assistant director of intelligence, Mr Muhammad Azni Sarbini, said it was common for people resisting urine tests to wet their trousers, but this was the first time such a heavy punishment was meted out to one of them.

Loke had been admitted to the Sembawang Drug Rehabilitation Centre in 1993 and 1996, and thus fell under the Long Term Imprisonment rule, which came into effect on July 20 this year. A first-time offender who fails to give urine samples upon request can be jailed for up to 10 years or fined $20,000 or both.

Loke, who was on the wanted list after he failed to return to the Lloyd Leas Work Release Camp, was arrested on Dec 6. For failing to provide a urine sample, he was sentenced on Dec 24 to jail and the cane. He received another four months’ jail for failing to return to the work release camp. Both sentences will run concurrently.

Copyright: 1999 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

DRUG-TESTING POLICY WOULD BE FAR-RANGING
From the Tulsa World
December 31, 1998
tulsaworld@mail.webtek.com
http://www.tulsaworld.com/

By Micheal Smith, World Staff Writer

Drumright Wants To Test All Students Who Take Part In Any Extracurricular Activities.

DRUMRIGHT—School officials are pushing for Drumright to be the first school in the Tulsa area with a random drug-testing policy for students involved in all extracurricular activities.

If the proposal is approved at a February school board meeting, it would affect more than 80 percent of the students in sixth through 12^th grades, including those in organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Science Club, Drumright Superintendent Roxie Terry said.

Northeastern Oklahoma schools in Commerce, Colcord and Kansas already have adopted such a policy. It expands upon measures instituted in recent years with regard to testing student athletes.

"To me, that’s not sending out the right message," Terry said. "I want this to say we care about everybody. We don’t want to leave anyone out."

He said the program would send students a message that they will get caught if they do drugs. It will also give students a good opportunity to "say no" to drugs when peer pressure might persuade them otherwise, he said.

Other area schools want to institute similar drug tests for extracurricular activities and are watching Drumright’s progress, he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court this year allowed an Indiana high school to continue having students take drug tests in order to take part in extracurricular activities. The decision, however, did not set a national precedent.

At a school board meeting on Monday, Terry will ask board members for final input on the proposal and to schedule a town meeting on the subject.

It would be the third town meeting to address the drug-testing policy in the past three months, during which time Terry has drummed up support.

"The response has been excellent. There’s a great deal of support from parents and students," he said. "We really don’t have much of a drug problem here, but I believe in this program, and so do others."

If approved at a February school board meeting, testing would begin almost immediately, Terry said.

Random drug-screening tests would be administered to a small percentage of students at periods of as long as 14 days between the tests. All of the students involved in extracurricular activities would be tested at some point during the school year, Terry said.

He said the policy would affect 82 percent of the 387 students in sixth through 12^th grades. Students participating in Future Farmers of America, Future Homemakers of America, Student Council and the yearbook would be among those to be tested.

Terry said he expects a volunteer spirit to bring the testing number closer to 100 percent. He said several students who are not involved in extracurricular activities have expressed a desire to participate in the drug testing, as have teachers and athletics coaches.

"I can tell you that I’ll be first in line," said Terry, who added that he’s witnessed little opposition to the proposal.

Ed Turlington, principal of Colcord High School in Delaware County, said he’s received no complaints from parents or students since testing began there in August. Even more remarkably, he’s seen no negative test results yet, with more than half of the students having been tested.

"It’s unbelievable. I mean, you know that somebody in any small town is smoking pot or something," he said. "But then, these kids know they’re going to be tested."

Joann Bell, state executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union, calls the testing a "terrible invasion of privacy." Expanding testing to include academic achievers is hard to figure and largely a waste of money, she said.

"Everybody has rights in this country—young people, too," she said. "They’re seemingly picking on the good kids here. It’s atrocious and a slap in the face to the 4^th Amendment."

Bell said she welcomes any complaints about the drug-testing proposal, though she realizes that some people are hesitant to come forward because "they might think it makes them look like they’re involved in drugs in some way."

"This whole thing will be very invasive, and school officials will learn things through this testing that should be private," Bell said.

Terry said an initial drug screening would cost an estimated $17 per student at Drumright. Follow-up tests for the 387 students would increase the thousands of dollars the testing would cost the school district, but the expense is worth it "if we can save even one child," Terry said.

A student’s first positive test would result in a nine-week suspension from extracurricular activities, he said. A second offense would bring an 18-week suspension from activities and required counseling for the student. A one-year suspension would follow a third offense.

"They’ve expressed an interest in that information, but we think we really might be treading" on student’s rights, he said. "Could there be some problem like that we’re aiding and abetting by not turning that information over? I’ll let a court decide that."