DJ Tenashar jailed, wants to be anti-drug ambassador upon release
Once a rising star, model-DJ fell from grace after jumping bail to flee Singapore following arrest for drug possession and consumption
FHM Singapore cover girl, first Singaporean club DJ in the world's top 100, bail jumper, and now convicted drug offender.
DJ Tenashar's fall from fame as a model-DJ reached its lowest ebb yesterday when she was jailed for 18 months for drug possession and consumption.
The 33-year-old, whose full name is Debbie Valerie Tenashar Long, had pleaded guilty to consuming benzoylecgonine, a major metabolite of cocaine, and psilocin, which is usually found in psychedelic mushrooms.
The single mum of a 12-yearold girl also admitted to possession of psilocin.
Another charge of being in possession of a nimetazepam or Erimin-5 tablet was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Wuan told the court that Long had consumed the drugs overseas.
He urged District Judge Kessler Soh to jail Long for 22 months, citing aggravating factors such as absconding while on bail.
But her lawyer, Mr S.S. Dhillon, said in mitigation that Long is a person of good character who has done charity work, and she wants to be an anti-drug ambassador after she is released from prison.
Citing how Long's international fame had put Singapore on the world map, he called for a sentence of not more than 16 months' jail.
Long, who had previously claimed to be of Spanish-Chinese descent, entered the public eye when she graced the covers of the Singapore and Malaysian editions of men's magazine FHM in 2012.
The following year, she became the first Singaporean to appear on the cover of the Thai edition of Playboy magazine and was ranked 87th in British dance music magazine DJ Mag's annual Top 100 DJs in the world.
Acting on information, Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers first arrested Long for drug-related offences at Changi Airport Terminal 1 on Oct 28, 2015, after she returned from a two-week trip to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
CNB officers found two containers in her luggage labelled "Psilocybe Atlantis Forbidden Fruit", which were later found to contain 41.81 grams of a substance containing psilocin, a Class A controlled drug.
Investigation revealed that Long had bought the drug in Amsterdam for her own consumption.
CNB officers later searched her home at The Quayside condominium in Robertson Quay and found an Erimin-5 tablet, which contains nimetazepam, a Class C drug.
Her urine sample was also found to contain benzoylecgonine, an indicator of cocaine.
Long was later released on police bail and allowed to travel out of Singapore on Nov 15 as she had been booked for performances overseas.
She was required to report back to CNB for further investigations but instead absconded with her then-boyfriend, Mr Thorsten Nolte.
The New Paper reported in 2016 that Long and Mr Nolte were wanted by Singapore authorities. But she denied to TNP that they were in trouble with the law, claiming it was gossip and slander.
She returned to Singapore on May 24 last year after her passport expired and was arrested.
Mr Nolte was not mentioned in the court documents.
Long's sentence was backdated to May 26 last year, when she was held in remand.
For each drug consumption charge, Long could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $20,000.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
