Man who allegedly made hoax bomb threat on aircraft departing from Changi Airport charged
SINGAPORE: A man was accused on Thursday (Jun 5) of making a hoax bomb threat while on board an aircraft that was preparing to leave Changi Airport.
Singaporean Azim Shah Abubakar Shah, 22, was handed one charge of communicating false information at the State Courts.
Investigations revealed that he allegedly posted "no one here knows I'm going to blow the plane up" in an Instagram story after he boarded the Etihad Airways aircraft at about 6.55pm on Feb 14, 2025.
The story was viewable to 16 people, according to his charge sheet.
Azim appeared in court represented by a lawyer.
The prosecution offered to reduce his charge to one under the Protection From Harassment Act for causing harassment, alarm or distress, however, he did not indicate a plea.
His case will return to court on Jul 3.
The police said in a news release on Wednesday that it was alerted at about 7.20pm on Feb 14 to a social media post containing a threat to blow up an aircraft.
Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Airport Police Division established Azim's identity within an hour of the post and confirmed that he was on a flight bound for Abu Dhabi.
The aircraft, which was already taxiing on the runway and about to take off, was recalled to Changi Airport Terminal 2, where Azim was subsequently arrested.
The police said Azim was found to have no means to carry out his threat, as no threat items were discovered in his possession.
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