Melbourne party boy Paul Singer avoids jail time for importing GHB via international flight
A globetrotting Melbourne party boy who travelled from one overseas music festival to the next imported a deadly drug linked to rave overdoses and deaths via an international flight. So why isn’t he going to jail?
Wyndham Leader
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A globetrotting Melbourne party boy who imported GHB disguised as water via an international flight has dodged immediate jail time.
Paul Singer, 28, was sentenced in the County Court on Tuesday to a 27-month suspended jail term after pleading guilty to importing a commercial quantity of GHB.
Singer was pinged by border security after he flew into Melbourne airport via Brunei following a European jaunt on July 24 last year.
Singer declared he had nothing illegal on his person but security wanted to take a closer look.
Officers quizzed Singer about two bottles of liquid — labelled ‘Gedemineraliserd water’— discovered in his luggage.
One bottle contained more than a kilo of GHB while the other bottle contained a smaller amount of GBL — an illegal GHB mirror drug.
Both drugs have been linked to multiple rave party overdoses and some deaths.
Investigators analysed Singer’s phone and discovered conversations related to drugs and drug transactions.
Police raided Singer’s Ascot Vale home and seized cocaine, ecstasy, crack pipes, a fake driver’s licence and small plastic containers usually used for packaging GHB.
Singer copped to his crimes but claimed the drugs were to feed his own GHB addiction.
He told police he bought the GHB for 300 euro from a man he met at Rotterdam music festival ‘Dominator’.
The court heard Singer, an RMIT IT graduate, enjoyed travelling the world’s music festivals and rave parties.
He told police he had attended three music festivals during his latest escapade.
Singer’s Facebook account is littered with pictures of him at exotic locations throughout Europe.
The party boy was based in the UK but is now back home working with his family who operate Williamstown’s famous Titanic Theatre Restaurant.
Judge Michael Tinney told Singer he had to fix his drug issues or he would wind up back in trouble.
“(You) have been interested in dance and music festivals where these sorts of drugs are rife,” Judge Tinney said.
“I am prepared to accept that personal use had a large enough role to play in relation to your foolish decision to bring in these drugs.”
Judge Tinney took into account Singer’s age, lack of priors, early guilty plea and good prospects of rehabilitation when sparing him an immediate jail sentence.
Singer, who also pleaded guilty to importing a marketable quantity of GBL, was placed on a two-year community correction order.
Judge Tinney said Singer needed permission before travelling outside Victoria.
“In the course of this order you can’t just get up and leave,” he said.
“You can’t go off to some sort of dance festival over in Amsterdam, hopefully you won’t go to dance festivals for obvious reasons.”
Singer’s 27-month Commonwealth jail term was wholly suspended for three years.
Judge Tinney warned Singer ”any act of bad behaviour” during this period — including drug use or possession — would most likely land him in jail.
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