SHE was stoned when she went to collect her O-level results.
That was how bad her drug addiction was.
Said Siti (not her real name): 'I was worried that I had done badly so I took drugs the night before.'
This was just one of the shocking things the drug-addled teenager did.
She also stole from her parents and became a drug pusher to fuel her habit.
What makes it all the more tragic is that Siti does not come from a broken home and was a promising student.
She said she scored distinctions in Higher Malay, Literature and English in her O levels.
But Siti eventually went straight after her dad had her arrested.
Now 18, she wants other teenagers to learn from her mistake because it's 'not cool to take drugs'.
Siti, who has a younger brother in Primary 4, said she started taking drugs while she was in Secondary 2 at a government neighbourhood school.
She said some friends in their 20s introduced her to drugs and she went along out of curiosity and peer pressure.
She started taking drugs meant for cough such as Romilar and Codeine to get high.
She resorted to sniffing glue sometimes and even experimented with Subutex.
Her usuals haunts were deserted staircases, void decks and bus stops, where she would take drugs at least once a week.
She added: 'The drugs are always free, the first time. The drug dealers bait you this way, so that if you're hooked, they will be the first persons you will call.'
An allowance of $20 a week for school wasn't enough to buy drugs.
Half a tablet of Subutex cost about $20 then, while Romilar costs about $10 for 40 pills.
She skipped meals at school just to save up and would cut deals with her suppliers - buying cheap and later selling them to other teens at a profit.
The profit fed her drug lifestyle.
The teens were mostly secondary school dropouts - some as young as 13.
But unlike many of her junkie peers, Siti did not come from a broken home.
Her housewife mother, 43, and her technician father, 47, were 'the perfect parents'.
But Siti said the stress of not being able to meet their expectations was one factor that drove her to abuse drugs.
'I was afraid I was never going to be able to fulfil my parent's wishes of being an excellent student. Somehow, I kept thinking of failing,' she said.
Her drug addiction soured her relationship with her parents.
It got so bad that she left home four times in two years.
She would go and stay with friends for varying periods of time, and went back only when she ran out of money.
And each time she returned, her parents forgave her.
She was also stealing things from her parents.
STOLE MUM'S RING & PHONE
When she was 16, she pawned her mother's jewellery and handphone.
Said Siti: 'I regret pawning away my mother's engagement ring. I sold it for $80, but I know it was worth more.'
Then, she lost 10kg from a two-month drug binge.
When confronted by her father, Siti claimed she was only taking 'less harmful' drugs like Romilar but unknown to him, she was injecting herself with a dangerous cocktail including Subutex.
Siti said: 'I tried to hide it by saying I had a flu or an upset stomach. The vomiting was actually due to the side effects from Subutex.'
Things got so bad that in December 2004, her father used a bicycle chain to lock the front gate of their flat.
The rest of her family had left to attend religious classes at a neighbour's flat.
She said: 'I was so desperate to get out that I called a locksmith. Unfortunately, as the lock was being opened, my father returned. He totally lost faith in me that night.'
He called the police, who took her away.
'While in handcuffs, I remember my mother crying and saying, 'I don't recognise you anymore.' I didn't feel betrayed by my father because it was for my own good.'
Siti spent the night at a police lock-up in Jurong.
She took a urine test, but the results were negative.
Her father wouldn't take her home. 'He wanted me to think hard and learn from the experience,' Siti said.
The next 24 hours was a sobering experience for her. She reflected on her life and the three friends who had health complications from their drug overdose.
She said: 'It became real only when those around me started to fall ill from taking drugs. It wasn't a dream anymore. I could have been next.
'I also kept thinking about the embarrassment I had caused my parents and younger brother. I didn't want my brother to grow up thinking he had a sister who was a drug addict.'
The next day, the police let her off with a stern warning and a relative took her home.
She started JC, but then decided to take time out.
She still lives with a relative, and with the $900 she earns as a sales assistant she plans to enrol in a polytechnic once she gets into the habit of studying again.
Some of her friends in junior college, who are preparing for their A-level exams, have been in touch with her and motivating her to get back to school.
She said: 'I want things to go back to normal like how it was studying in school. Mixing with drugs only made my school years a big blur.'
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Now, parents not ashamed to seek help
PARENTS of teen drug abusers are now more willing to seek help, said Mr Abdul Halim Kader president of the Taman Bacaan female halfway house.
'Twenty years ago, even when their children's urine tested positive for drugs, parents still believed their children were innocent. Parents were too embarrassed to admit their children were drug abusers,' he said.
'Now with more anti-drug campaigns and hotlines, parents are not ashamed to reach out.'
Parents still need to be vigilant against drug abuse as teen abusers are more daring and also 'good actors', he said.
Look for tell-tale signs at home, like a teenager's sudden anger outburst, character change, theft or truancy.
From an in-house survey done at Taman Bacaan, some residents there started taking drugs as early as 12 years old.
And most reported that their 'first tries' were always free.
If you need help, please call:
The Partnership for a Drug-Free Singapore at 1800 733 4444.
Taman Bacaan female halfway house at 6853 4371.
Jamiyah halfway house at 6776 9101.
Green Haven at 6565 6880.