Two Singaporean men arrested in Bangkok for selling ‘Happy Water’ to nightclubs

Bangkok police arrested two men from Singapore yesterday for allegedly producing a drug known as ‘Happy Water‘ and selling it to entertainment venues around the capital.

Happy Water is made by mixing various drugs with sweetened drinks. The drug cocktail is not for the faint-hearted: it typically contains ecstasy, methamphetamine, caffeine, diazepam, and tramadol all in one.

Police arrested 63 year old Lo Jin Ang and 34 year old Ong Chao Xiang, both of Singaporean nationality. The men allegedly produced Happy Water and sold it to nightclubs, including the illegal Jinling Pub in the Yan Nawa district of Bangkok, which was raided on Wednesday morning. Police found ketamine, nimetazepam, and ‘Happy Water’ formula inside the venue.

Hundreds of partygoers at Jinling were arrested during the raid, 104 of them testing positive for drugs. A total of 99 who tested positive were Chinese nationals.

The investigation led officers from the Narcotics Suppression Division to raid Lo Jin Ang’s apartment in Ratchada Soi 5 in Huai Kwang district yesterday.

Inside the apartment, officers found Happy Water formula – in the same packaging as the Happy Water found inside Jinling. Police arrested Lo Jing Ang and Ong Chao Xiang and seized the drugs as well as speakers which the accused used to smuggle the Happy Water into entertainment venues. Firearms and rounds of ammunition were also seized.

The men confessed to smuggling drugs into northeast Thailand from neighbouring countries by hiding them in the speakers. Then, they brought the drugs to “three or four” condos in Bangkok. The men admitted to mixing the drugs and distributing them to entertainment venues. However, they neither admitted nor denied selling the Happy Water to Jinling Pub.

Police say Lo Jin Ang illegally entered Thailand nearly 20 years ago. Over the years Thai people have assisted him in renting accommodation and helped him to move around and go unnoticed by the authorities. He has never had a real profession in Thailand and has no relatives here, said police.

In relation to the Jinling drug raid, one police chief has been transferred from his position (a sort of slap on the wrist for criminal police) for allegedly accepting bribes and allowing the nightclub to open and operate illegally. The venue was owned by a Chinese national.

The accused are facing a hefty prison sentence in Thailand for their crimes. However, it will be much worse for them if they are extradited to Singapore to face trial, where drug trafficking is a crime punishable by the death penalty.