‘I need him to apologise,’ says mum whose son attacked her while high on Kpods

SINGAPORE – She was close to her only child, a 27-year-old son, but his addiction to etomidate-laced vaporisers, or Kpods, damaged the relationship.

It got to a point where her son physically hurt her once when he was high and struggled with withdrawal.

Rose (not her real name), 56, then applied for a personal protection order against Ben (not his real name) because as a single parent with little family support, she was fearful that he would hurt her badly.

At the height of his addiction, Ben was using up to three pods a day.

In November 2024, he attempted to harm himself by climbing out of the window in the living room of their HDB flat, which is on a high floor. When his mother tried to stop him, he yelled at her, choked her and slammed her head against a wall.

Rose had to call the police on him for this and another incident.

After his second arrest, Ben was admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for suicide ideation, and stayed there for two weeks.

It was then that he decided to undergo rehabilitation.

He was discharged on Sept 3, 2025.

Speaking to The Sunday Times at her home in Telok Blangah on Oct 1, Rose said she first learnt Ben was using Kpods in October 2024.

“I noticed he wasn’t behaving normally. He was shaking, talking nonsense and smiling. I didn’t know what the problem was, but I suspected it was drug-related,” she said.

Rose later found out that her nephew’s girlfriend had introduced Kpods to Ben, who began using the drug to manage the stress he was experiencing while working at a bubble tea shop.

“That was when all hell broke loose for me. I saw how he behaved through the CCTV in my house. He couldn’t stand properly, he lost control of his (bowels), and he wouldn’t answer when I spoke to him.”

Ben also started losing his hair, lost a lot of weight, and developed acne-like bumps on his face and legs.

On Nov 19 that year, Rose confronted Ben about his Kpod use.

Agitated, Ben dashed towards their living room window and tried to jump, but Rose pulled him back. He then slammed her head against a wall. She showed ST the CCTV footage of the incident.

As the scuffle continued outside their home, Rose pleaded for her neighbours to call the police. Ben was arrested that evening.

After she bailed him out, she lived in fear the following days and months.

“I had to hide my wallet in case he stole my money to buy Kpods. I had to lock myself in my room. After two or three months, I decided to apply for a personal protection order against him,” said Rose, who is currently between jobs.

After the incident, Ben tried to quit his addiction, but relapsed several times.

Things came to a head again on July 31, 2025, when Rose confiscated Ben’s vape and locked him out of the flat, hoping it would help him sober up.

High on Kpods, Ben climbed the parapet outside the flat and tried to enter through the window when he realised he had been locked out.

Rose called the police again.

She said: “I felt hopeless because (it seemed like) no authority could help me. When I saw that etomidate would be reclassified as a Class C drug after his second arrest, I saw a glimpse of hope.

“I told myself, this is it. This is the only chance I have to save my son. I had to be firm when he was arrested and not let him come home. When he agreed to go for rehab, I was overjoyed.”

On Aug 17, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced during his National Day Rally speech that the Government would treat

.

On Sept 1, etomidate was classified as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

have also been introduced.

First-time Kpod abusers under 18 will be fined $500, while those above 18 will be fined $700. They will also be required to attend rehabilitation for up to six months.

Ben was arrested and admitted to IMH for two weeks, as Rose did not want him to be discharged unless he was clean.

It was during this time that Ben finally agreed to get help at the National Addictions Management Service (Nams), a facility inside IMH that provides treatment and support for people with addictions.

He told ST: “I wanted to go to rehab because I wanted my life back. I wanted to be able to earn money, and spend that money on things that I need or want, not things that would hurt my health.”

During his three-week stay at Nams, Ben had counselling sessions and attended programmes teaching him to manage his addiction and regulate his emotions.

He also attended support groups where he heard others share their experience with addiction, and participated in activities including gardening, sports, and art and craft.

After his discharge from Nams, Ben has been attending group sessions at We Care Community Services, an addiction recovery centre. To prevent a relapse, he deleted the Telegram app from his phone and has cut off contact with his friends who use Kpods.

He said: “Now that I am discharged and away from Kpods, I am happy. I don’t keep track of the days (I am clean), I take it one day at a time.”

Rose said her son’s medical bills came up to more than $8,000, which MediSave and MediShield Life covered.

Senior consultant psychiatrist Munidasa Winslow from Promises Healthcare made a distinction between recovery and abstinence.

“People tend to think that they’re not really addicted, and they can stop any time they want to.

“With vapes, a lot of it is behavioural monitoring, which is learning to change your behaviours, and learning alternative behaviours when you have a craving,” he said.

“Recovery is an active process, where you’re thinking about why you’re doing (Kpods), and what are the alternatives (to it). People can choose to abstain from things like drugs and alcohol, but if they do not address the issues in their life which cause them to use, they are likely to go back.”

About a month after harsher penalties against vaping kicked in, the Ministry of Health and the Health Sciences Authority said 39 people who were caught for using etomidate e-vaporisers

at IMH or social service agencies.

Those ordered to go for mandatory rehabilitation have to attend

and group support sessions, and take medical tests at Nams.

IMH received

within 13 days of the announcement of stricter penalties on Aug 28. This is triple the number of inquiries it received between July 1 and Aug 27.

There are currently five agencies under the Government’s QuitVape programme: IMH, We Care Community Services, Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities and Fei Yue Community Services.

Rose said her son’s Kpod addiction has also taken a toll on her mental health, and she was forced to quit her secretary job at a hospital.

Although she is relieved that Ben is in recovery, Rose said she has not forgiven him for what he did, as he has yet to apologise.

“I need him to apologise because it’s very difficult to experience something like that as a mother. I really thought I was going to die (that day when he slammed my head against the wall).

“Other people have told me I am very strong, but I think I was pushed to do what I did. It was a very natural reaction (to save him),” she said.

In response, Ben said he wants to make sure he is fully recovered first: “I want to apologise, but I want to get to a point where I can genuinely say I am sorry for what I did and the trouble I’ve caused.”

He added: “I think the most important thing for me now is to take things one day at a time, and in time I will apologise to her for what I did.”