M Ravi’s death: Friend charged with taking drugs with the ex-lawyer in Boon Keng Road flat

[SINGAPORE] The man who allegedly took drugs with former lawyer Ravi Madasamy, better known as M Ravi, was charged on Dec 26 with arranging a gathering where controlled drugs were consumed.

Shawn Loo Zhi Jian, 40, allegedly arranged a gathering with Ravi to consume methamphetamine at an Upper Boon Keng Road flat on Dec 24 between 1 am and 5 am.

Loo’s LinkedIn profile shows he is an assistant vice-president at a foreign bank which he joined in 2011 after graduating from Singapore Management University.

The prosecutor had asked for the case to be heard again in a week pending the results of the drug tests and the retrieval of security camera footage.

He is expected to be back in court on Jan 2, 2026.

Ravi was 56 when he died on Dec 24.

The police had previously said he had consumed drugs with a friend before he was found unconscious at the flat that day. Paramedics had responded to a call at around 5.40 am that morning.

Present with him was the friend who said he had been taking drugs with Ravi several hours earlier.

He told the authorities Ravi had reacted to the drugs, prompting the friend to call for help and administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Ravi.

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The man was arrested by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), and Ravi was taken to hospital where he later died.

In a joint statement on Dec 26 by the police and CNB, they said CNB officers had seized some drug-related items from the flat.

The man’s urine had tested positive for a controlled drug in an instant urine test, and his urine samples will be sent to the Health Sciences Authority for testing.

Preliminary investigations found that both men have known each other since 2023 and first met through a social networking app.

The joint statement added: “The 40-year-old man stated that they had met at the man’s flat on Dec 24 to consume drugs which allegedly came from both of them, and engage in other activities.”

Lawyers had paid tribute to Ravi for contributing significantly to the legal profession.

He started practising in 1997, and had been a strong opponent of Section 377A, the law criminalising sex between men which was later repealed in 2022.

Ravi was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2006 and went through a series of disciplinary proceedings over the years.

These included for being disruptive in the courtroom and the improper handling of clients’ cases.

In 2023, he was handed the maximum suspension of five years for making baseless allegations against the Attorney-General, prosecutors and the Law Society.

He was struck off the rolls by the Court of Three Judges in 2024.

Anyone convicted of arranging a gathering to consume controlled drugs can be jailed for up to 20 years and given 10 strokes of the cane. THE STRAITS TIMES