Man started shaking & walking unsteadily after taking drug-laced vapes, says mother
The mother of a 27-year-old man in Singapore has lamented that her life has become “worse than death” after her son got hooked on drug-laced e-vaporisers, or “Kpod” vapes.
His behaviour has become so bad that he has even physically abused her and attempted suicide, she told Shin Min Daily News.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Man starts behaving strangely, mother finds vapes in his room
The 56-year-old mother, who declined to be named, said she noticed her son started behaving strangely in October last year.
The man, who had been working at a bubble tea shop, quit his job that month after less than a year without giving notice, foregoing his salary.
He then started shaking and walking unsteadily, so she searched his room and found vape pods.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
It was then that she realised her son had become hooked on “Kpods”.
After becoming unemployed, he did nothing all day but stay at home smoking vapes, playing games, and watching TV, she added.
Man attempts suicide, mother tries to stop him
On 18 Nov, when the woman confronted her son about smoking vapes, he became emotional and said he wanted to take his own life.
His mother did not call the police at the time, so he was sent to the Institute of Mental Health, which allowed him to go home after a few hours of evaluation.
However, the next day, he lost control of his emotions again after being confronted and tried to jump out of the living room window.
His mother grabbed him from behind to stop him, but he ended up attacking her instead.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
During the scuffle, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her head against the wall, she said.
Man tries to jump down again
After a round of arguments, the man ran out of the flat, saying he wanted to jump down from the corridor.
Again, his mother grabbed him tightly to stop him, and this was witnessed by their neighbours, an elderly couple in their 70s.
They tried to help, but the man warned them not to come over.
The struggle was recorded in CCTV footage she shared with Shin Min, showing him trying to climb over the parapet but being held down by his mother.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
He then pushed her face with his hands and subsequently collapsed on the floor, exhausted.
As their neighbours had called the police, the man was detained by the Central Narcotics Bureau for a few hours.
His mother, however, bailed him out before seeking treatment at the hospital for her neck and foot injuries.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Mother applies for PPO
Since that incident, the woman had had trouble sleeping every night as she was worried.
She decided to apply for a Personal Protection Order (PPO) to protect herself against her son and also applied to the court for him to undergo mandatory treatment for one year, starting from 30 May.
In February, his condition seemed to improve as his hands did not shake and he stopped walking unsteadily.
Man suspected to have bought vapes again, says mother
However, her nightmare did not end there.
It seemed that the man just did not have the money to buy vapes.
Last Thursday (19 June), he said he was going out as his friend wanted to buy a keyboard.
As his recent good behaviour had caused her to let her guard down, she gave him S$10 for transport and asked him to share his location with her.
But he did not come home by 10pm and said he was smoking downstairs with his friends. When he returned, his eyes were “dull”, she said.
He then went out again later that night, claiming to be buying coffee.
His mother later discovered that he had sold his keyboard and had S$100 in his bank account.
He subsequently used S$77, which his mother suspects to have been spent on “Kpods” again.
Son borrowed from loan sharks
Now, to prevent the man from buying vapes again, the mother hides her wallet after returning home every day.
This comes after she found out that he had borrowed money from moneylenders and loan sharks and paid them S$4,000 on his behalf, she said.
If he wants to buy food or cigarettes, she will buy them for him or give him exact change and ask to see the receipt, she added.
Cousin introduced man to vapes
While the mother came to know of his habit last October, she suspects that he had been exposed to “Kpods” earlier than that.
His cousin had introduced him to them at a nightclub, intending just to give him a “high” as he could not sleep at night, she revealed.
She now bemoaned that she could not help him break the habit, which has affected him significantly.
He now eats only one meal a day, speaks incoherently, and cannot even answer questions properly.
He can’t even answer the door as he has trouble identifying people, she said, adding:
As a mother, I am very heartbroken. I am living a life worse than death every day.
By sharing her story, she hoped to prompt other parents to pay more attention to their children and seek help immediately if something is not right.
Also read: 13-year-old girl in S’pore vapes drug-laced ‘Kpod’ outside State Courts, investigated with 2 others
13-year-old girl in S’pore vapes drug-laced ‘Kpod’ outside State Courts, investigated with 2 others
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
