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Kpod users caught the third time or more will be detained in a drug rehabilitation centre for treatment. Those under 16 face mandatory supervision and drug testing for a year.
SINGAPORE – A 15-year-old boy who vaped until his mother called the police on him, and who verbally abused the responding officers, was ordered to spend two years in a boys’ home.
He was dealt with on July 21 after pleading guilty to 12 charges, including for voluntarily causing hurt, harassing a public servant, possessing a vape and shop theft, among other offences.
District Judge Amy Tung ordered him to a juvenile rehabilitation centre at the Singapore Boys’ Home, after finding probation unsuitable for him.
He cannot be named as he is below 18 and protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.
On May 1, the boy’s mother called the police, telling them: “My son is going crazy.”
When two police officers arrived, the mother showed them a vape and said her son had not been acting normally since using it. The location was undisclosed in court documents.
When one of the officers asked the boy to sit down, the child shouted at him.
The officer saw cuts on the boy’s legs and insisted that paramedics check on his injuries. But the boy refused, became aggressive and shouted vulgarities at the officer.
It was not stated in court documents if the boy was arrested that day.
On March 5, the boy and his friend, identified in court as T, met another boy, V, to use vapes laced with etomidate, also known as Kpods, together.
When V did not lend T his Kpod, they fought. The boy and T punched and kicked V multiple times, causing him to fall to the ground.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kamen Chiang said they continued assaulting him even as he lay on the ground, until he bled from his mouth and nose.
V suffered a lip contusion and a nasal bone fracture.
The boy and T asked V if he had any valuables on him, searched his pockets and threatened to slash him with a karambit knife if he did not cooperate. They then took V’s Kpod and fled.
The accused also committed shop theft several times in 2023 and 2024, said DPP Chiang.
In June 2023, he stole four packets of Kinder Bueno chocolates from a supermarket. A month later, he shoplifted a bottle of perfume worth $140.
In 2024, he stole a pair of white socks worth $5.90 and a gaming mouse valued at $189 from shops at Nex.
In July 2023, after hearing that another boy, 13, had bad-mouthed the offender and his friends, they confronted the victim and took him to a staircase landing at a multi-storey carpark.
They then punched, kicked and pushed the victim multiple times on his face and torso , slamming the victim’s head against the ground and wall.
The victim lost consciousness for around 10 minutes and vomited twice when he woke up. He also suffered ear, knee, chest and abdominal injuries. The victim’s aunt reported the incident to the police.
The judge noted that the boy’s father is serving a prison sentence and that his parents are divorced. His mother has sole custody, care and control of him.
The judge said even if the father had been involved in the boy’s life after the divorce, he would be in no capacity to help the mother in the boy’s supervision.
The boy’s mother had also voiced her helplessness in managing her son’s behaviour at home, added the judge.
Judge Tung said that there were no appropriate family members who could help the boy and his mother. “The lack of strong familial support and supervision does not bode well for a smooth and successful probation journey for (the boy).”
Judge Tung said it would be in his best interests to be sent to a juvenile rehabilitation centre and be under the supervision and guidance of professionals and youth caseworkers.
Stiffer penalties were imposed by the Government against vaping from Sept 1.
These include vape abusers having to face increased fines of $500 for those under 18 and $700 for adults, up from $300 and $500 previously.
Those using Kpods will be sent for mandatory rehabilitation, while those using Kpods a second time will undergo mandatory supervision for six months, which includes drug testing and rehabilitation.
Kpod users caught the third time or more will be detained in a drug rehabilitation centre for treatment. They must also undergo drug testing and supervision for a year.
Those under 16 face mandatory supervision and drug testing for a year.
[SRC] https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/my-son-is-going-crazy-mum-calls-police-on-vaping-15-year-old-who-gets-sent-to-boys-home
