I lost my daughter to Kpod addiction: Father of 19-year-old shares heartbreak and lessons
The last image Mr Delfard Tay has of his 19-year-old daughter Shermaine is a video of her stumbling out of their three-room flat in Tanjong Pagar.She looks unsteady in the footage, as she tries to get up from the sofa she slept on in the living room.It was a familiar sight – and Mr Tay knew she had used Kpod, a type of vape pod containing liquid laced with the powerful anaesthetic drug etomidate.For months in 2024, he had argued with his only child, urging her to quit using Kpods.He knew how destructive substance addiction could be – after all, he had criminal convictions for drug trafficking and other offences.Mr Tay, 43, said his daughter had been under drug supervision for using methamphetamine or Ice, which she had consumed at her boyfriend’s home some time between 2023 and 2024.It was her first brush with the law, and she did not abuse drugs after that, he added.She then tried to convince him that Kpods were safe, but her addiction to them ended her life.Mr Tay said with a sigh: “I wanted to lead by example and tell her to stay away from drugs and Kpods... But it was a bit too late.”