SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old competitive bodybuilder who was studying at a polytechnic died in 2024 from toxicity caused by a banned weight-loss substance.
The youth, who cannot be named due to gag orders protecting his identity imposed by the coroner’s court, was hospitalised after having heart palpitations and difficulty breathing but died on Dec 22, 2024.
The case investigation officer told the coroner’s court at the opening of the inquiry on Thursday (Apr 23) that the deceased lived with his parents and older brother.
He checked into hospital saying he had taken a “fat burner” which caused him to have heart palpitations and difficulty breathing.
He was transferred from Mount Elizabeth to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he died the same day.
The final cause of death was dinitrophenol toxicity. Dinitrophenol is a substance listed under the Poisons Act. It is used as a weight-loss agent, but is prohibited due to concerns of toxicity.
A check of the man’s home revealed some medications and substances, but none were linked to dinitrophenol.
