A Singaporean technical support officer has received a maximum fine after he was found guilty of adding an unknown substance to a woman's drink, in the hope that it will make her fall in love with him.

Wong Fook Hiong, a 43-year-old married man, bought two vials of unknown substance online for USD$200. Without checking what the substance really was, he added it into a woman's bottled water, believing it was a love potion. 

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After being found guilty, Wong was given a maximum fine sentence of $1,500 on Tuesday, Jan. 19 for nearly causing the woman to lose her life.

Wong admitted mixing the concoction into the water of a 30-year-old female lecturer from Ngee Ann Polytechnic on Jan. 12, 2015. According to N.K. Anitha, assistant public prosecutor, the victim drank some of the poisoned water from her bottle, but immediately spat it out as it tasted bitter. On a separate event, she again consumed a mouthful of water, which still tasted bitter.

Later on, she discovered that her throat started to feel dry, her thoughts become clouded and has difficulty sleeping at night.

On Jan. 12, 2015, around 5:30 PM, the victim placed her phone, which was set on a video recording mode, and a bottled water on her desk and left the room. When she returned at around 8:00 PM, she witnessed that Wong walked into her desk, mixed the unknown substance into her bottled water, shook it and then returned it to its original position.

After learning of the incident, she filed a complaint the following day and Wong was nabbed.

When the water was analyzed, experts found it contained two noxious chemicals. The first is xylazine, an analgesic, anesthetic, sedative and muscle relaxant commonly utilized for animals. It has known side effects such as drowsiness, lethargy, respiratory depression and hypotension. The second chemical found in the water is haloperidol, an anti-psychotic drug prescribed for psychosis with reported adverse effects like tremors, headache, agitation and insomnia.

Javern Sim, Wong's lawyer, claims that his client has been suffering from mood disorder, making him think immaturely and display attention-seeking behavior. He was apparently just attempting to catch the attention of the woman he liked, Sim said. However, Wong is sorry for his actions that caused him his job of 17 years, he added.

According to APP Anitha, it was fortunate that the victim was not put into serious danger, which would have resulted in Wong being fined or put into jail for up to 3 months.

Tagslove potion, polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, mood disorder