A man in Singapore, Tan Xianglong, 37, has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for trying to frame his estranged wife by placing cannabis in her car.

Xianglong’s lawyer argued that he was suffering from depression at the time of the crime, but the court dismissed this claim, citing medical evaluations showing he had no mental disorder. In Singapore, penalties for drug possession can include imprisonment, while trafficking can lead to the death penalty.

Although Xianglong faced a potential five-year sentence, he received a reduced term of three years and ten months due to his cooperation and early guilty plea in the trial.

Xianglong, hid what he believed was over half a kilogram of cannabis between the rear passenger seats, thinking it might lead to her facing the death penalty for drug trafficking.

Singapore has enforced some of the strictest anti-drug laws in the world, aimed at deterring drug-related offenses.

However, it was revealed that less than half of the substance was actually cannabis; the remainder was filler.

Court documents indicated that Tan intended to intimidate his wife and get her into legal trouble, fully aware that she could be wrongly arrested for a serious crime if his scheme succeeded.

On Thursday, he was sentenced to three years and ten months for cannabis possession, with the court also taking into account a second charge of illegally planting evidence. Tan and his wife married in 2021 but separated a year later.

They were unable to file for divorce, as Singapore requires couples to be married for at least three years. Tan believed he might receive an exception to this rule if his wife had a criminal record.

In Telegram conversations with his girlfriend last year, Xianglong claimed to have devised the “perfect crime” to frame his wife.

On October 16, he purchased a block of cannabis from a Telegram group, ensuring it weighed over 500 grams (1.1 pounds), and placed it in her car the following day.

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Xianglong failed to consider that his wife’s car was equipped with a camera, which alerted her to a “parking impact.” When she checked the live footage, she saw him around her vehicle and reported him to the police for harassment.

During their investigation, police searched the car, discovered the drugs, and initially arrested Tan’s wife. However, after finding no evidence against her, they shifted their focus to Tan and arrested him.