A 27-year-old man has made legal history as the first motorist in Singapore to be convicted of driving while under the influence of etomidate-laced vape pods, frequently referred to as ‘Kpods’. Tung Jun Yu was sentenced on Tuesday (Mar. 31) to five years and 18 months’ imprisonment, along with 10 strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to a total of five charges involving drug trafficking, dangerous driving, and operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs.
The court heard that Tung was already out on bail for previous drug-related offences when the traffic incidents occurred on Jul. 14, 2025. During the late afternoon, he was spotted by a fellow motorist driving against the flow of traffic on Supreme Court Lane, a one-way road. When confronted by the witness, a dazed Tung simply showed his phone displaying a Grab delivery map before slowly driving away, prompting the witness to alert the police due to the driver’s incoherent state.
Less than an hour later, Tung’s erratic behaviour led to a collision on Bras Basah Road near Bencoolen Street. Investigations revealed that he had failed to follow a mandatory right-turn lane, instead attempting to drive straight and striking the rear of another vehicle. The second victim reported that Tung was shivering, speaking in slurred sentences, and appeared unable to keep his eyes open when officers arrived at the scene to recover three e-vaporisers from his car.
While a breathalyser test returned a negative result for alcohol, a subsequent blood analysis by the Health Sciences Authority detected 0.05 microgrammes of etomidate per millilitre. Etomidate is a powerful prescription-only anaesthetic typically used in hospitals to suppress consciousness; the court concluded that Tung’s consumption of the drug via a vape pod had rendered him entirely unfit to maintain control of his vehicle.
Beyond the traffic violations, Tung was also dealt with for his role in a drug distribution network. He was previously apprehended in October 2024 with significant quantities of methamphetamine and cannabis, later admitting he acted as a courier for an individual known as “Binance”. Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh argued for a deterrent sentence, noting that a car in the hands of an impaired driver is a “potentially devastating weapon” and highlighting the rising trend of etomidate abuse through vaping devices.
