SINGAPORE – In just a few months, Home Team psychologist Sarah Lavinia Joseph and her team managed to develop and implement a correctional programme for etomidate abusers, as the number of such cases shot up in 2025.
That was the year the abuse of vapes laced with the powerful anaesthetic, which are called Kpods, became a crisis in Singapore.
Following the classification of etomidate as a Class C controlled drug on Sept 1, 2025, Joseph and her team got to work on the programme on a short deadline.
Joseph, a psychologist with the Singapore Prison Service (SPS), said: “The timeline was very tight. But the thing is, we were also not starting from scratch, because when you talk about addictions-related content, SPS has many years of experience and research.
“The basic theories, principles… those we’re aware of, but we also had to collect information on what does this group of (etomidate) abusers look like? How different would they be? And that was the challenge.”
The 10-session programme began in November 2025.
It aims to help participants explore the reasons for and impact of their etomidate abuse; to understand and make plans to manage their addiction cycle; and to guide them to strengthen their personal and social capital in planning for their future.
As at Oct 1, 2026, 67 etomidate abusers have undergone the programme, said SPS.
On Nov 13, Joseph was presented with the Ministry of Home Affairs Operational Excellence Award at the Minister’s Awards Presentation Ceremony.
A total of 104 awards were presented to outstanding officers, teams and agencies which demonstrated efficiency and competency in major operations and projects in the course of their work.
In his speech at the ceremony held at the Home Team Academy, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam said the use of technology has helped Home Team officers respond faster and deploy resources more effectively.
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