'I decided to apply for a personal protection order against my son'

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

- Claudia Tan

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.