Alleged drug dealer charged after skipping bail in 2017 and arrested in Malaysia 7 years later

SINGAPORE – An alleged drug abuser who skipped bail in 2017 before being arrested in Malaysia on October 1, 2024, has been charged with drug trafficking.

Alvin Ching Kah Meng, 37, was sent back to Singapore on October 20 and appeared in a district court the next day.

According to court documents, the Singaporean allegedly engaged in a conspiracy with two other people to traffic two packages of a crystalline substance around April 1, 2014.

They were later found to contain at least 165.7g of methamphetamine or ice.

In a statement dated October 21, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said Ching was initially arrested and charged in court on April 3, 2014, with three counts of drug trafficking and one count of drug consumption.

He was released on bail, but an arrest warrant was issued for him after he failed to appear in court on June 12, 2017.

Without revealing details, a CNB spokesperson added: “The man was also wanted by police to assist in investigations into two cases of voluntary serious harm and cheating by impersonation.”

Malaysian authorities arrested Ching on October 1 for criminal and immigration offences.

On October 20, he was sent back to Singapore, where CNB agents arrested him. His case was postponed until October 28.

If convicted of trafficking 165.7g of ice, Ching could be jailed for up to 20 years and receive up to 15 strokes of the cane.

The CNB states on its website that those convicted of trafficking more than 250g of the same drug may be sentenced to death.