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The doc who helps white-collar meth addicts
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FEATURE | It is midnight when Dr Ilias Adam Yee visits Jim at his home for a private consultation.

Jim, 43, has been very emotional this week. He is paranoid about his surroundings, but he nevertheless tries to welcome Yee with a smile.

Jim lives in a luxury condominium in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. He worked for a leading firm in his field, before he was sacked.

Life was good way before he started taking crystal meth.

Now he battles schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves, causing a patient to lose touch with reality.

“A person with mental illness has very high tendency of doing drugs,” said Yee, a sexual health, HIV and addiction clinician.

“They take drugs to make themselves feel better. But then, the symptoms become exaggerated by crystal meth. If a person takes drugs in the long term, it could also induce psychosis.”

Jim’s house is well-renovated and fully furnished. There are dumbbells on the floor, befitting Jim’s in-shape physique.

“Come, let’s have a sit,” he says, but he appears to be in a state of stupor, his eyes hardly concentrating on the people he is speaking to.

He lost his job after a psychotic episode prompted police intervention.

“I am supposed to fly home today,” he says. “But I burnt my identity documents last night.”

He says this as a matter of factly, and continues to share his thoughts on Malaysian politics before heading to the kitchen to bring out refreshments.

The chemsex scene

It has been years since Jim was referred to Yee, who at the time was the only physician on the ground known for helping drug-addicted gay men in Malaysia.

After serving up a bowl of lychee soup, Jim took out a water bong from his room and placed it on the table next to the television set.

The bong is similar to that used for marijuana intake, but this one is meant for methamphetamines.

The users smoke up the methamphetamine vapour, rather than inject themselves with syringes, so as to avoid scars.

The bong is considered the best way to take meth into the body, as it takes less than 10 seconds, and the high is more intensified than swallowing or snorting.

Injections - or “slamming” as it is known - are becoming less popular due to the high risks of side-effects.

Bacteria from the syringes could lead to abscesses, while sharing needles can lead to various virus infections such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.

“Do you want it?” Jim asks nonchalantly.

If not for the physician doing his rounds, this could be a scene for a chemsex party - short for chemical sex party referring to the sex under the influence of chemical drugs.

At chemsex parties, party-goers take hits of meth, growing more and more aroused, before engaging in sexual intercourse, either with a partner or in a group...

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