6 days ago
Man to be charged with making a bomb hoax, causing aircraft at Changi Airport to be recalled
SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old man will be charged on Thursday (Jun 5) over a bomb hoax he allegedly made while on a flight that was preparing to leave Changi Airport.
The police were alerted on Feb 14 at about 7.20pm to a social media post containing a threat to blow up an aircraft.
Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Airport Police Division established the identity of the man within an hour of the post and confirmed that he was on a flight bound for Abu Dhabi, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a news release on Wednesday.
'The aircraft, which was already taxi-ing on the runway and about to take off, was recalled to Changi Airport Terminal 2, where the man was subsequently arrested,' they added.
Investigations revealed that he allegedly posted 'no one here knows I'm going to blow the plane up' on his social media account, after he had boarded the aircraft.
"The man was found to have no means to carry out his threat, as no threat items were discovered in his possession," said the police.
The man will be charged with the offence of communicating false information of a harmful thing under Section 268A of the Penal Code.
The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to seven years, a fine of up to S$50,000, or both.
