SINGAPORE: A man was charged on Monday (Sep 8) with possessing pods with etomidate, or Kpods, for the purpose of trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
This is the first such charging since etomidate – the anaesthetic agent that has been found in vapes – was listed as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act on Sep 1, and after increased penalties for vape users and suppliers kicked in on the same date.
Before September, etomidate was listed only as a poison, with penalties for Kpod users either under the Poisons Act or the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act.
Derek Khor Boon Chun, a 40-year-old Singaporean, was given one charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act for trafficking in a Class C controlled drug by having 43 pods containing etomidate at a car park at Block 631, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 at about 4.40pm on Sep 6 this year.
The alleged offence took place six days after the new laws took effect.
Police had found Khor to be in possession of an e-vaporiser and pod, after they were earlier alerted to him behaving suspiciously, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in a joint press release on Monday.
Checks on his phone revealed that he was allegedly involved in vape trafficking activities.
After the case was referred to HSA for further investigations, a search of his vehicle uncovered the vapes and their related components, including pods. The seized pods later tested positive for etomidate.
