Jeremy Chua Beng Kai, 32, was sentenced on September 4, 2026, to two years and 15 months in jail and two strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to six charges, including trafficking, possession and consumption of Kpods—vapes laced with etomidate—and driving under the influence of etomidate [1, 2]. Chua was caught driving impaired by etomidate twice within three months, the second offence while on bail for the first [1, 2, 3].
Chua’s erratic driving was first detected on August 17, 2025, when an off-duty police officer stopped him on the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and found Kpods and etomidate in his blood [1, 2]. On October 20, 2025, Chua collected 29 Kpods and $1,610 in cash for delivery runs in Jurong and Sengkang. During this delivery, he briefly drove against traffic for 10-15 meters in Punggol, causing another driver to brake hard, before being arrested again with vapes and etomidate detected in his blood [1, 2].
Between October 15 and 20, 2025, Chua delivered about 10 to 12 Kpods daily at $20 per delivery to repay gambling debts accumulated since August 2024. His credit card and cash-line loans owed to online gambling losses prompted his parents to take loans on his behalf to settle debts [1, 2, 3].
Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang stressed the dangers of etomidate driving offences, citing that out of 38 traffic accidents linked to drugs reported from 2023 to 2025, 19 were fatal and 9 involved etomidate [3]. Ang said, "Offences involving driving under the influence of etomidate are particularly dangerous" [3].
Chua’s lawyer Riko Issac presented mitigation, stating that Chua had been introduced to Kpods under "difficult and stressful circumstances" and used them to alleviate his stress and misery. He added that Chua’s time in remand "has effectively left him no choice but to abstain from K-Pod abuse and completely quit cold turkey," and that he was determined not to repeat the mistakes [3].
After release, Chua will be disqualified from driving for five years [1, 2, 3].
