Man jailed, caned for driving under influence of etomidate while making Kpod deliveries

The 32-year-old man was caught twice driving under the influence of etomidate, including while on bail for the first offence.

Vape devices are pictured on a counter at a vape store in Melbourne, Australia. (File photo: Reuters/Sandra Sanders)

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SINGAPORE: A man who was arrested for driving under the influence of etomidate was caught committing the same offence again while delivering Kpods for his supplier.

Chua Beng Kai Jeremy, 32, was sentenced to three years and three months’ jail on Friday (Sep 4) for trafficking and consuming Kpods, as well as driving against the flow of traffic while under the influence of etomidate.

He was also sentenced to two strokes of the cane and will be disqualified from driving for five years after his release.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang had sought three years and five months’ jail to three years and nine months’ jail, as well as two strokes of the cane.

Highlighting the risks of inhaling etomidate, Mr Ang said offences involving driving under the influence of etomidate are particularly dangerous.

Between 2023 and 2025, 38 traffic accidents were linked to drug and etomidate use. Of these, 19 were fatal, with nine involving etomidate.

The fact that Chua committed the second offence while on bail for the first was a particularly aggravating factor, Mr Ang argued.

He also pointed to the substantial distance Chua drove on the second occasion, from Jurong to Punggol, while carrying out deliveries of Kpods.

Chua’s lawyer, Riko Issac, who runs his own practice, argued for two years and 10 months’ jail and two strokes of the cane. Both sides sought a driving disqualification of between four and five years.

In mitigation, Mr Issac said Chua had been introduced to Kpods in “difficult and stressful circumstances”, and that using them helped to alleviate his stress and misery.

Describing Chua as “the architect of his own disaster”, his lawyer said Chua became desperate to preserve his coping mechanism after falling into debt with his supplier, and agreed to perform delivery jobs to repay it.

“His time in remand has effectively left him no choice but to abstain from K-Pod abuse and completely quit cold turkey. He has taken the time spent in remand for introspection and is determined to never to repeat the same mistakes again,” the defence’s mitigation documents read.

In August 2024, Chua was in debt from credit card spending and cash-line loans that he had used for online gambling. His parents took out various loans to help repay his debts.

Chua, a Singaporean, then decided to use his family’s car to take on delivery jobs. Around this time, he began smoking Kpods as he was stressed about having caused his parents to take on debt and was unable to find a job.

He initially used one Kpod a week but soon became addicted, using one every two days.

Chua subsequently accumulated a debt with his Kpod supplier, whom he contacted regularly through Telegram. The supplier offered to reduce the debt if Chua collected and delivered Kpods for him. Chua agreed.

On Aug 17, 2025, Chua was driving dangerously along the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, travelling slowly and swerving between lanes.

An off-duty police officer driving in front of him noticed his dangerous driving and stopped his car, prompting Chua to stop as well. The officer showed his warrant card and questioned Chua. He noticed that Chua appeared dazed and was unable to answer coherently.

The officer called the police, who found vapes in Chua’s car. Chua was arrested and released on bail soon after.

A toxicology report later found etomidate in his bloodstream.

From Oct 14, 2025, Chua began delivering Kpods for his supplier. He was promised S$20 (US$15.80) for each delivery and a further S$10 reduction in his debt.

That day, Chua collected a large quantity of Kpods from an unknown person. He then made about 10 to 12 deliveries a day over the next few days.

On the evening of Oct 20, Chua drove to Jurong to collect a bag of 29 Kpods for more deliveries, after consuming Kpods himself. The bag also contained S$1,610 in cash, which his supplier said was his payment for previous deliveries and an advance payment for upcoming ones.

Chua was instructed to deliver the 29 Kpods to a location in Sengkang.

He then drove to Punggol to hand S$1,610 to an unknown person to pay off part of his parents’ debts, before driving towards his home in Punggol.

Just after midnight on Oct 21, he drove along Punggol Central towards Punggol Road against the flow of traffic for about 10m to 15m, causing another driver who was travelling in the correct direction to brake to avoid a collision.

Chua realised he was driving against traffic and stopped his car. The other driver called the police, who again found vapes in Chua’s car.

Chua was arrested, and a subsequent toxicology report again found etomidate in his bloodstream.

For trafficking etomidate, a Class C controlled drug, Chua could have been jailed for up to 10 years with five strokes of the cane. The minimum sentence is two years’ jail and two strokes of the cane.

The punishment for driving under the influence of etomidate is a jail term of up to 12 months, a fine of S$2,000 to S$10,000, or both.

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这名 32 岁的男子曾两次因服用依托咪酯后驾车被抓，其中一次是在他因第一次犯罪被保释期间。

图为澳大利亚墨尔本一家电子烟商店柜台上的电子烟设备。（资料照片：路透社/桑德拉·桑德斯）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：一名男子因服用依托咪酯后驾车被捕，在为供应商运送Kpods时再次犯下同样的罪行。

32岁的蔡炳凯·杰里米（Chua Beng Kai Jeremy）于周五（9月4日）被判处三年零三个月监禁，罪名是贩运和吸食Kpods，以及在服用依托咪酯（etomidate）后逆向驾驶。

他还被判处鞭刑两下，并在获释后五年内不得驾驶。

副检察官达伦·昂要求判处三年零五个月至三年零九个月监禁，外加两下鞭刑。

Ang 先生强调了吸入依托咪酯的风险，并表示在依托咪酯的影响下驾驶的违法行为尤其危险。

2023年至2025年间，共有38起交通事故与毒品和依托咪酯的使用有关。其中19起为致命事故，9起涉及依托咪酯。

Ang先生认为，蔡某在保释期间犯下第二起罪行，这是一个特别严重的加重情节。

他还指出，蔡某第二次运送Kpods货物时，从裕廊到榜鹅的距离相当长。

蔡的律师里科·伊萨克（Riko Issac）是一名独立执业律师，他辩称应判处蔡两年零十个月监禁和两下鞭刑。双方都要求吊销蔡的驾驶执照四到五年。

伊萨克先生辩称，蔡先生是在“困难和压力大的情况下”接触到 Kpods 的，使用 Kpods 帮助他缓解了压力和痛苦。

蔡的律师称他是“自己灾难的始作俑者”，并表示蔡在欠供应商债务后，为了维持生计，不顾一切地同意从事送货工作来偿还债务。

辩方在求情文件中写道：“羁押期间，他实际上别无选择，只能戒除K-Pod毒品，彻底戒断。他利用羁押时间进行反省，并决心不再重蹈覆辙。”

2024年8月，蔡某因信用卡消费和用于网络赌博的现金贷款而负债累累。他的父母为了帮他还债，也贷了各种款。

蔡先生是新加坡人，他随后决定用家里的车去送外卖。大约在同一时期，由于担心让父母背负债务，又找不到工作，他开始吸食电子烟。

他最初每周使用一个 Kpod，但很快就上瘾了，每两天就使用一个。

蔡某随后欠下了他的Kpod供应商一笔债，他经常通过Telegram与供应商联系。供应商提出，如果蔡某帮他收货并送货，就减少他的债务。蔡某同意了。

2025年8月17日，蔡某在加冷-巴耶利峇高速公路上危险驾驶，行驶缓慢，并在车道间摇摆不定。

一名休班警员驾车行驶在他前面，注意到他危险驾驶，便停车示意，蔡某也跟着停车。警员出示警员证件后询问蔡某。他发现蔡某神情恍惚，无法连贯地回答问题。

警员报警后，警方在蔡某的车里发现了电子烟。蔡某被捕，不久后获准保释。

毒理学报告后来发现他血液中含有依托咪酯。

自2025年10月14日起，蔡先生开始为供应商配送Kpods。供应商承诺每次配送支付他20新元（15.80美元），并减免他10新元的债务。

那天，蔡某从一名陌生人那里购得大量豆荚。接下来的几天里，他每天大约送货10到12次。

10月20日晚，蔡某在自己享用完Kpods后，驱车前往裕廊取回一袋29个Kpods，准备继续送货。袋子里还有1610新元现金，供应商称这是之前送货的货款和预付的后续货款。

蔡某被指示将 29 个 Kpod 运送到盛港的某个地点。

然后他开车前往榜鹅，将 1610 新元交给一位不知名人士，以偿还父母的部分债务，之后开车返回他在榜鹅的家。

10 月 21 日凌晨刚过，他驾车沿榜鹅中心路逆向行驶约 10 米至 15 米，导致另一名沿正确方向行驶的司机紧急刹车以避免碰撞。

蔡某意识到自己逆向行驶，便停下了车。另一位司机报警，警方再次在蔡某的车里发现了电子烟。

蔡某被捕后，随后的毒理学报告再次发现他血液中含有依托咪酯。

蔡某因贩运C类管制药物依托咪酯，最高可判处10年监禁并处以五下鞭刑。最低刑罚为两年监禁并处以两下鞭刑。

在服用依托咪酯后驾驶的处罚是最高 12 个月的监禁、2000 新元至 10000 新元的罚款，或两者并罚。

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