S'porean man, 41, charged with manufacturing K-pods for sale at Yishun flat, 1st such case in S'pore

A 41-year-old Singaporean man was charged in court on Jul. 17 after he allegedly manufactured e-vaporiser pods containing etomidate, also known as "K-pods", at his public housing flat in Yishun with the intent to sell them.

In a statement issued to Mothership on the same day, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said that the case is the first of its kind in Singapore.

Besides seven charges pressed by HSA, the man, Mohammed Akil Bin Abdul Rahim, also faced one count of making a false statement when applying for a new passport.

During court proceedings on Jul. 23, Akil indicated his intention to plead guilty to all charges, stating that he did not want to waste the court's time, reported The Straits Times.

Akil is expected to return to court on Aug. 11 after the judge presiding over his case instructed the prosecution to provide additional information on his sentencing and adjourned his case.

Charges pressed by HSA

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Akil was accused of selling 100 vape pods, which were analysed and found to contain etomidate, at his unit sometime after 12:39am on Dec. 11, 2024.

Concurrently, he was accused of possessing 100 loose e-vaporiser pods and two boxes of vaporiser box set without pods, which were intended for sale.

Other items Akil allegedly possessed and intended to sell included 569 pieces of empty pod casings, 534 pieces of pod components, 1,485 pieces of pod covers, and 26.4g of white powder containing etomidate.

These items were purportedly found at his flat at 5:30am on Dec. 11, 2024, alongside two pieces of disposable vaporisers and three loose pods, which were not for sale.

A poison listed in the schedule of the Poisons Act, etomidate is commonly used as an anaesthetic agent.

HSA cautioned that the substance should only be administered under medical supervision, as it could cause adverse effects, such as nausea, changes to blood pressure, seizures, and psychosis.

Charge pressed by ICA

Court documents revealed that Akil had allegedly made a false statement to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in an application for a new passport on Jan. 20, 2025.

In the application, Akil purportedly declared that his passport was not returned to him after he forgot his bag, which contained his identity card (IC) and passport, at a coffee shop, a statement he knew to be false.

Prosecution asked to provide more information

During court proceedings on Jul. 23, an HSA prosecutor proposed between 12 and 15 months' imprisonment for Akil, reported ST.

An ICA prosecutor stated that the agency would seek between six and eight weeks' imprisonment for Akil, adding that the sentence will run consecutively with that submitted by HSA.

In response, the judge presiding over the case instructed the prosecution to flesh out their sentencing submission, including by attaching a profile of end users and statistics on the rise of K-pods in Singapore.

As Akil's case is the first of its kind in Singapore, the judge also asked the prosecution to outline how the body of law is set out in judicial decisions for similar cases in their submission.

Top images via Health Sciences Authority