S'porean man, 40, charged with trafficking Kpods, taken back to Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 scene

Derek Khor Boon Chun, 40, the first person in Singapore to be charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act for trafficking Kpods, was brought back to the scene of crime by Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers on Sep. 12.

Khor was arrested at the car park of Block 631 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 on Sep. 6, at about 4:40pm.

He allegedly possessed 43 pods that were found to contain etomidate for the purpose of trafficking.

Scene visit

Khor, together with HSA officers, arrived at Block 631's sheltered drop-off point at around 4:04pm in an unmarked silver minivan.

The drop-off point was located at the car park where Khor was arrested on Sep. 6.

The accused was then taken back to one of the units of Block 631.

Khor was clad in a white polo t-shirt and navy blue shorts and was restrained on his arms and legs.

Several HSA officers, as well as auxiliary officers, exited the vehicle alongside him.

With his head hung low and wearing an expressionless face, Khor shuffled towards the central lift lobby of the block.

He was escorted by two HSA officers throughout.

Entered lift

As the media crowded around, an HSA officer turned around to ask for space before the entourage disappeared into the lift at around 4:06pm.

The lift stopped at the 11th floor before descending to the sixth and third floors.

The commotion drew the attention of those in the vicinity.

Seeing the media craning their necks and looking upwards at the block, some passers-by and shop attendants did the same as they gathered at the open space in front of the block.

An elderly couple was seen peering at the commotion from the window of their unit.

Khor and the officers were later seen visiting the third floor before descending via the staircase back to the ground floor.

He was escorted back to the drop-off point, where they waited to be picked up by the minivan.

As Khor waited, he continued to hang his head low, his lips pursed and eyebrows slightly furrowed.

He also shuffled on the spot.

Khor and the officers boarded the minivan and left at around 4:23pm.

As the media crowded by his side of the window to get a shot of him, Khor was seen turning his head away from the lenses.

The entire scene visit lasted 19 minutes.

Other passers-by gathered at the drop-off point to observe the scene.

Coffee shop patrons had also shifted from the dining area to its backyard.

Coffee shop patrons did not recognise Khor

Shop attendants at a homewares store at the ground floor of Block 631 told Mothership that they were not privy to what was going on.

When asked about the Sep. 6 arrest, they were similarly unaware it took place.

When showed a picture of Khor, coffee shop patrons told Mothership that they did not recognise and were not familiar with him

When told about the arrest related to drug-laced vape pods, they quickly pointed out that they knew of what happened on Sep. 6.

Mothership later visited two units on the third floor and spoke to its residents.

One of the residents, referring to the scene visit, said she saw a group of people at the stairwell on her floor earlier, but did not know anything beyond that.

Another resident shared that he was aware of the Sep. 6 arrest.

When asked if he observed anything out of the ordinary in the neighbourhood lately, he said he suspected that the Sep. 6 arrest was due to a tip-off.

Public reporting enabled arrest: HSA

Following the scene visit, chief executive officer of HSA, Raymond Chua, said:

“As illustrated in this case, the prompt reporting of suspicious activity by the public enabled the authorities to disrupt the illegal supply of e-vaporisers and distribution of harmful controlled drugs like etomidate.

I thank members of the public for partnering with us to keep Singapore safe and vape free by reporting suspicious activities.”

Etomidate was classified as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act on Sep. 1.

Khor was charged on one count of drug trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act by an official from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

If found guilty, he could be jailed 10 years and given five strokes of the cane.

Khor is next set to appear in court on Sep. 15.

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Top image via Javier Lim / Mothership.