Bank of America employee charged with arranging drug gathering in Singapore

An employee of Bank of America was charged in a Singapore state court for arranging a Christmas Eve gathering where controlled drugs were consumed.

Shawn Loo Zhi Jian allegedly met with M. Ravi, a former lawyer, to consume methamphetamine, according to a charge sheet on Friday. Ravi subsequently died. The charge sheet didn’t connect Loo to Ravi’s death.

Loo is an assistant vice president at the US bank in Singapore, according to his LinkedIn profile. There was no immediate response from Loo to an email query. A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment.

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If convicted, Loo, 40, faces a jail term of as long as 20 years and caning for the offence.

Prosecutors indicated there may be additional charges. Loo is out on bail of S$20 000 ($15 575) and is scheduled to be back in court on 2 January 2026.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest drug laws.

Citizens or residents found to have consumed drugs overseas may face the same penalties as those who do so within the city-state.

Ravi was part of a group of lawyers who acted in a constitutional challenge in 2014 seeking to overturn a colonial law banning sex between men. The law was repealed in 2022.

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