Dead easy to buy glue

Dead easy to buy glue
Laws help curb indiscriminate selling - but all it takes may be a trip to the hardware shop
By Lim Pow Hong


The Straits Times sent three teens to test how easy it is for young people to get their hands on glue. They managed to buy seven cans from 10 hardware shops in Ang Mo Kio, Jalan Besar, Toa Payoh and Ubi. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN

THE BURNING QUESTION

GLUE-SNIFFING has been on the rise over the last five years, especially among young people. From 120 in 2005, the number of inhalant abusers caught has jumped to 644 in 2007.

Statistics released by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) showed that 352 inhalant abusers were arrested in the first half of last year.

Young people under 20 years old made up 63 per cent of those arrested. Out of this number, 72 per cent were students.

In order to combat the problem of glue-sniffing, the law has ensured that the indiscriminate selling of glue carries penalties.

Those who sell glue, or similar products like thinners, indiscriminately will be prosecuted.

Under the law, shopkeepers are required to record the details of people buying glue.

Those who flout these rules are cautioned for a first offence.

If they continue to sell glue without keeping proper records, they face a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and two years' jail.

How easy is it then for young people to get their hands on glue? The Straits Times put it to the test by getting three teens to try their luck at buying glue.

THE LITMUS TEST

Who: Three teens, 15-year-olds Sarah Sim and Sirin Thongudomporn, and 17 year-old Chong Joe En

Where: Ten hardware shops in Ang Mo Kio, Jalan Besar, Toa Payoh and Ubi.

When: Dec 12, 2008

How: Each teen walked up to the counter with the can of glue and paid for it in cash. The teen waited to see if the shopkeeper would ask for identification and whether his or her name would be checked against a register. When asked why he or she was buying the glue, the teen would use the excuse that it was needed for a project.

The statistics: The three teens managed to buy seven cans of glue from 10 different hardware shops. Out of the 10 shops, three refused to sell glue to the teenagers and three asked for identification.

Some shopkeepers went strictly by the book

Kwong Kee Hardware and Paints
at Block 449, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10
The sales assistant was in his 20s. One of the 15-year-olds asked him for canned glue, and he told her that she needed to present her identity card in order to buy one.

She then told him she did not have her identity card with her, and he directed her to a middle-aged shopkeeper who said it was compulsory to show identification before buying glue.

When asked why, his reply was: 'Ask the police!'

He added that it was 'because of glue-sniffing'. She left without buying any glue.

Chang Yong Seng Tools and Hardware
at Block 148, Toa Payoh Lorong 1
The 15-year-old was paying for the glue when the middle-aged female cashier asked for identification. The teen's name was then checked against the list of glue sniffers and her details recorded.

When asked why this was being done, the cashier explained that glue was a controlled substance and that the police required her to take down such information.

However, there were other shopkeepers who seemed aware that there were regulations in place but did not go quite by the book

Teck Cheong Hardware
at Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2
One of the 15-year-olds walked in and asked for glue. The sales assistant gave her the can of glue and told her that he needed to record her particulars, so she waited.

After waiting a while, another salesman asked if she had paid, and the teen asked him if he needed to take down her particulars.

His reply was: 'Never mind.'

The teen walked out of the shop with the can of glue without her particulars being taken down.

And there were those who played it safe by not selling glue to young people at all

Sinbun Trading along Jalan Besar
The 17-year-old entered the shop and asked the shopkeeper if he stocked any glue.

The shopkeeper asked the teenager what type of glue he was looking for. The teen replied: 'Dunlop, canned.'

The shopkeeper asked for identification. When asked why, he replied that CNB requested that he ask for the identification of children buying glue.

At that point, the teenager spotted the glue and picked it up, taking it to the counter, but the shopkeeper insisted that only those 18 years and above could buy glue.

When the teenager tried to negotiate with him and said he was 17 and only a few months away from turning 18, the shopkeeper still refused.

Eventually, the teenager gave up and left.

However the rules do not seem to be consistently adhered to. A different outlet under the same company sold the glue, without any questions asked, to a teen who was even younger

Sinbun Trading at Dunlop Street
One of the 15-year-olds walked in and asked the female shopkeeper for glue, and she showed it to her.

No identification was requested, and the transaction was over in less than 10 minutes.

THE RESULT

The three teens found it a breeze buying glue. While CNB has advised shopkeepers to be more careful about selling glue to young people, it is a commercial product that people have easy access to.

Dr Thomas Lee, an associate consultant from the Addiction Medicine Department, Institute of Mental Health, agreed.

'Hundreds of inexpensive household products, like glue and hairspray, are widely available. As such, easy accessibility is one of the main reasons that lead young people to try glue-sniffing,' he said.

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