A teenager who trafficked etomidate-laced Kpods, assaulted an 84-year-old woman in a wheelchair and helped move money from compromised bank accounts has been sentenced to at least 12 months of reformative training.
He pleaded guilty to seven charges, including trafficking etomidate and transferring benefits from criminal conduct. Another 17 charges were considered during sentencing.
The teenager cannot be named as he was under 18 when some of the offences were committed.
Reformative training is a detention-based sentence aimed at rehabilitating young offenders. Unlike probation, the offender is held in a structured environment and undergoes programmes or counselling intended to address offending behaviour.
124 Kpods Found After He Drove Into Woodlands Checkpoint
According to court documents reported by CNA, the teenager had never held a driving licence but bought a car without a valid Certificate of Entitlement for S$2,500 through an advertisement on Telegram.
He drove it on at least six occasions.
On the night of 15 October 2025, after consuming etomidate earlier, he drove to Ang Mo Kio to pick up his then-16-year-old girlfriend before heading towards Causeway Point.
After leaving the Bukit Timah Expressway, he ended up on a road leading into Woodlands Checkpoint.
Shortly after midnight on 16 October, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers inspected the vehicle and found 124 vaporiser pods containing liquid, together with other vape products.
Tests subsequently found etomidate in all 124 pods. The teenager intended to sell them for S$75 each, putting their total estimated street value at about S$9,300.
His urine also tested positive for etomidate.
Withdrew S$19,000 From Six UOB Accounts
Months earlier, around April 2025, the teenager had met someone using the name “John Wick” on Telegram, CNA reported.
He was offered work withdrawing money in Singapore for an overseas money laundering operation, with commissions of up to S$2,000 for every S$100,000 withdrawn.
Using an application containing compromised bank card details, the teenager could tap his phone against an ATM’s contactless reader to gain access to the affected accounts.
Between 3 and 4 April, he and a friend went to multiple UOB ATMs and withdrew S$19,000 from six accounts without the account holders’ consent.
His friend acted as a lookout.
The teenager received about S$750 for his role and paid his friend S$250.
Kicked 84-Year-Old Woman After Her Daughter Refused His Request
In another incident on 7 May 2025, the teenager approached an 84-year-old wheelchair user and her 60-year-old daughter while they were on their way to take a bus to the older woman’s daycare centre.
He asked them to take him home.
When the daughter refused, he became angry and struck a metal bollard before kicking the elderly woman’s wheelchair.
He also kicked her left shoulder and head before leaving.
The woman suffered bruising to her shoulder, neck and face.
Had Previously Breached Probation
The prosecution argued against giving the teenager another probation order.
According to CNA, prosecutors said his offences took place between February and October 2025, with several committed while he was on bail.
He had previously breached a probation order and was sent to the Singapore Boys’ Home. He then committed further offences less than a year after being released.
District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam found him suitable for reformative training after considering the required assessment of his physical and mental fitness.
He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining any class of driving licence for two years after his release.
His reformative training is scheduled to begin on 22 September. The court allowed the sentence to start after his examination results are released on 21 September so he can make arrangements concerning his studies.
