Singapore coroner links 20-year-old bodybuilder’s death to banned DNP
What's new: Police could not trace how he got the toxic weight-loss drug, and his mother may give more evidence that could reopen the inquiry.
A Singapore coroner found that a 20-year-old competitive bodybuilder died in December 2024 from dinitrophenol, or DNP, a banned and highly toxic weight-loss substance. State Coroner Adam Nakhoda ruled on Oct. 16 that the polytechnic student’s death was a substance-related accident after he was hospitalized with breathing trouble, fever and heart palpitations, then suffered cardiac arrest at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Investigators found 34 types of medication and other substances at his home, but none contained DNP, and police could not unlock his phone to trace the source. His mother told the court she was concerned youths in Singapore could still obtain such illicit drugs and said she wanted to give police more evidence.