BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

SOCIAL acceptance was attributed as one of the many reasons why a person, especially children, can easily fall prey to the evils of drugs, said a Narcotics Control Officer yesterday.

Delivering a talk at the “Awasi Anak Kitani” programme, Assistant Narcotics Control Officer Ruddy Mulyaddey Hj Mohd Ali said that children easily succumb to the temptations of drugs when they attempt to be socially accepted in a group or are bullied into doing so.

The programme, jointly organised by the Information Department (Belait) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), was held at the Jame’ ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque with the aim of teaching parents and guardians how to shield their loved ones from the dangers of drugs.

Assistant NCO Ruddy Mulyaddey pointed out to the fear of being bullied or left out of the social circle as one of the situations where children are most vulnerable.

“So this is where we must advise our children to draw the line and teach them to learn to say no these things, families play a huge role in combating narcotics,” he said.

Also when the abusers come out of rehab, families should be there for them, helping them recover instead of isolating them, otherwise they come back to their “friends” who may actually just want their money.

Ruddy told the parents to keep an eye on their children and be watchful of their children “falling in love” online, for example such as what happened to a Bruneian woman in 2009.

He said that a common case they hear is drug abusers aggressively asking for money from their parents.

The Information Department in a statement said that the programme served to help parents become more aware of the dangers of drug abuse.

“The social ill of drug abuse in the national community is increasingly worrying and needs to be handled seriously. Parents need to realise if their child is involved in suspicious activities and constantly advise them on the detrimental effects of drug abuse,” the statement read.

“Thus increasing the parents’ knowledge on how they can identify drugs can help the parents themselves take action and protect their child before it is too late.”

The Brunei Times