Ex-dulwich College teacher faces crystal meth charges

A BRITISH former headmaster of an international school in China appeared in a Singapore court yesterday charged with consumption and possession of methamphetamine and ecstasy.

Damien Michael Charnock used to be the head of Dulwich College Shanghai, a branch of the exclusive London private school, and faces five charges including consumption of methamphetamine and ecstasy in March, according to charge sheets.

The 60-year-old is also charged with possessing packets of meth and ecstasy tablets, as well as equipment used to consume drugs, at an apartment in the city.

The case has echoes of Breaking Bad, an American TV show which tells the story of a chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with cancer and turns to making meth to raise money to secure his family’s future.

For each charge of drug consumption, Mr Charnock faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Sg$20,000 (£12,000), according to The Straits Times newspaper.

It is not clear why Mr Charnock was in Singapore when he was arrested.

In an interview in 2015, Mr Charnock said he was appointed to work at the Shanghai institution in 2014 after years as a headmaster at a school in London.

He also told the Time Out Shanghai website that he was raised in Malaysia where his parents had lived for “many, many years”.

Dulwich College, founded in the 17th century, now has several branches in Asia including one in Beijing which opened in 2005 and one in Singapore which was established in 2014.