Mark Sibayan Downie busted for meth, reveals struggles with sexuality

When he was caught with more than 20g of meth on a rural highway, a Qld miner’s habit of numbing the pain of his true identity came to a head. Now, he’s in recovery after revealing his sexuality to his conservative family, a court has heard.

Mark Sibayan Downie, 37, started using drugs when he was 16 years old after discovering at age 11 that he was homosexual. Downie was busted at Springsure on April 2, 2023, possessing 19.456 grams of meth. He has since quit using drugs and only revealed to his family in March 2024 that he was homosexual.

A Central Queensland drug addict busted with over 20g of methamphetamines on a rural highway had used drugs for 20 years to numb the pain of hiding a key component of his identity, revealing it to his conservative family only six months ago.

Mark Sibayan Downie, 37, started using drugs when he was 16 years old after discovering at age 11 that he was homosexual, his barrister Scott Carter told the Supreme Court in Rockhampton last month.

Downie was intercepted driving on the Gregory Highway on April 2, 2023, at Springsure in possession of 19.456g of meth in 25.466g of substance.

Mr Carter said his client had been addicted to drugs since he was 20 because of his “significant struggles with his sexuality” and had “grown up in mostly regional mining towns” as his father was a diesel fitter.

He said his mother also had mental health issues which had impacted the family when Downie was aged 11 to 14, around the same time he realised he was gay.

“He struggled with that (his sexuality) his entire life,” Mr Carter said.

“He didn’t confide in his parents or siblings.

“(They were) prejudicial towards men like Mr Downie and that’s why he never confided in his family.”

Mark Sibayan Downie, 37, started using drugs when he was 16 years old after discovering at age 11 that he was homosexual. Downie was busted at Springsure on April 2, 2023, possessing 19.456 grams of meth. He has since quit using drugs and only revealed to his family in March 2024 that he was homosexual.

But in March 2024, Downie bravely revealed the secret he had kept from his family for 25 years – with some accepting and others still struggling with his true identity.

Downie has relocated to Brisbane and still did FIFO work in the mines.

He’s also been in a homosexual relationship for the past seven months, which Mr Carter told the court made him the “happiest” he had ever been.

“His partner has been that missing piece in his life and since meeting his partner,” Mr Carter said.

“It has filled the void that drugs had filled throughout his life.

“The intimate relationship with his partner certainly changed things for him significantly.”

Mr Carter said while Downie had now dealt with his drug addiction, he still had other issues from his childhood and up until his “coming out” that he had yet to deal with in ongoing therapy sessions.

Chief Justice Helen Bowskill said the material provided to her outlined the broad struggles of a profound nature that Downie had dealt with during his life.

She said a letter about his drug rehabilitation efforts stated he had a “genuine desire to transform his life” and he was “beginning to feel comfortable with who he is without the need to mask himself with drugs”.

Chief Justice Bowskill sentenced Downie to three years prison with immediate parole release due to his rehabilitation efforts.