Tony Eusoff — regular actor in multiple Singaporean productions — won’t be appearing on screens and stages for a while. He was sentenced to serve eight months in jail after being caught in possession of cannabis last month at Tuas Checkpoint, Channel NewsAsia reports.
The 38-year-old Malaysian actor had been travelling to Singapore to for a shoot in a Mediacorp TV series titled The Hash Hush, carrying 4.56 grams of weed in his bag. Before his bus arrived at Tuas Checkpoint however, he hid the packet behind the last row of seats on the bus, which he intended to retrieve after clearing immigration.
The hidden stash however was found during a routine check on the bus, and Eusoff fessed up that the drugs were his after being taken to the Central Narcotics Bureau’s office.
In court, Eusoff’s lawyer pointed out that the actor was a “cultural asset”, and had significant contributions to the arts scenes on both sides of the causeway. Figures of the Singaporean arts industry — including actress Neo Swee Lin and W!ld Rice founder Ivan Heng — came forward to attest to Eusoff’s accomplishments and value.
Though the prosecution did not dispute any of Eusoff’s contributions to the arts, they remained unbowed and reminded the court that deterrence should remain a key sentencing consideration.
Eusoff, who recently celebrated his birthday, simply wished everyone a “blissful and clessed life” in a Facebook post yesterday. We’re pretty sure the irony of being sentenced a day after 4/20: International Weed Day was not lost on him.
