S'porean man, 27, gets jail & 10 strokes of cane, 1st motorist to be convicted for driving under influence of Kpods

A 27-year-old man became the first motorist in Singapore to be convicted of driving under the influence of etomidate-laced vape pods, commonly referred to as Kpods, after he was sentenced to five years and 18 months’ jail and given 10 strokes of the cane on Tuesday (Mar. 31).

Tung Jun Yu was also disqualified from driving for five years from the date of his release from prison after pleading guilty to five charges, including driving under the influence of a drug, dangerous driving, and drug trafficking.

Drove against flow of traffic

Tung had been out on bail for drug offences when he committed the traffic offences on Jul. 14, 2025, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

At about 5:41pm that day, he was driving along Supreme Court Lane, a one-way two-lane road, when another motorist spotted him travelling against the flow of traffic.

The motorist, identified in court documents as W1, wound down his window and told Tung he was heading in the wrong direction.

Tung responded: “Huh?” before showing W1 his phone, which had the Grab delivery application and a map displayed, and then continued driving away slowly.

W1, who noticed Tung appeared dazed and did not smell of alcohol, called the police.

Collided with vehicle

Less than an hour later, at about 6:29pm, police received another call after Tung collided with another vehicle along Bras Basah Road near Bencoolen Street.

Investigations showed Tung had been travelling in the right-most lane, which was designated for vehicles turning right into Bencoolen Street.

Instead of turning, he continued straight ahead and attempted to squeeze into the adjacent lane, hitting the rear of another car in the process.

The other driver, identified as W2, approached Tung to obtain his particulars and observed that his speech was slurred and incoherent, and that he was shivering.

When police officers arrived, they found Tung reacting slowly, unable to fully open his eyes, and speaking unclearly. Three e-vaporisers were recovered from his vehicle.

Although a breathalyser test did not detect alcohol, analysis by the Health Sciences Authority later found 0.05 microgrammes of etomidate per millilitre of blood in Tung’s sample.

Court documents stated that Tung had consumed etomidate through an e-vaporiser before or while driving, and that he was unfit to drive because he was under the drug’s influence to such an extent that he could not properly control his vehicle.

Etomidate is a prescription-only anaesthetic drug typically administered intravenously by trained medical personnel and is known to suppress consciousness and cause involuntary muscle jerks.

Arrested earlier over drugs

Months before the traffic offences, Tung had been arrested by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau on Oct. 8, 2024, at a staircase landing of a residential block.

He was later escorted to his bedroom, where officers recovered two packets containing not less than 41.47g of methamphetamine and more than 33g of cannabis.

Officers also seized S$400 in cash from him.

According to court documents, Tung admitted the money came from delivering drugs for a person known to him as “Binance”, who would instruct him via Telegram to collect and transport drugs to various locations.

These included methamphetamine, cannabis, Erimin-5 tablets and ketamine.

Tougher deterrence needed

The prosecution said Tung’s traffic offences were committed while he was already facing drug charges, and highlighted that he had prior traffic-related convictions between 2022 and 2024, including speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt and driving without due care.

In sentencing submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said it was fortunate that no one was seriously injured.

He said:

“As the courts have observed, a car in the hands of an inebriated person is “a potentially devastating weapon”.

“It is fortuitous that the actual harm caused is limited to property damage given the accused’s state and the high volume of traffic at the material time.”

The prosecution added that tougher deterrence was needed, given the growing prevalence of etomidate being consumed through vapes and the danger such conduct poses to other road users.

Top images via Shin Min Daily News, SPF