A hoax threat to bomb City Hall posted on a social
media website early this year triggered 95 per cent of Public
Transport Security Command's manpower to be diverted to respond to
the threat.
These police officers were dispatched to 18 MRT
stations along the East-West, North-South and North-East lines.
They conducted checks and joint foot patrols at the stations to
look out for suspicious objects or persons, noted a district
judge.
District Judge Shawn Ho cited these moves in the
January 14 incident to underline how fake bomb threats cause
"enormous disruption" in jailing Sze Kai Xuan to 18 months for
uploading the fake message on tagged.com.
Sze, 23, a former marketing executive, admitted to
posting the message under the user name ' Constantine S': "Today is
the day everyone, cherish it before I bomb City Hall."
Police officers were then put on "heightened alert"
given that the Jakarta bombing attacks had occurred at about
11.40am on the same day. Police received a call about Sze's online
post at about 12.35 pm.
DJ Ho, in the grounds of decision issued on Monday,
noted the accused had targeted a "prominent icon "- City Hall. He
added that this was a " grave matter".
"On the same day as the accused's offence, bombs
exploded in Indonesia's capital, killing four civilians and
injuring many others in Central Jakarta.
"Understandably, until such time as the authorities are
able to determine that the threat is false, any threat made has to
be treated as genuine. The immediate response to a threat being
made would be to take precautions, which could include evacuation
and checks. Resources, whether manpower, equipment or time, and
perhaps most importantly - attention - are expended in
investigating false bomb threats."
The judge observed that many police officers had to
deviate from their original work schedule in order to respond to
the bomb threat, affecting their intended day-to-day patrol shift
duties.
" In the premises, actual and significant disruption
was caused to the provision of essential and emergency services.
The net effect was a severe drain on the Public Transport Security
Command's resources.When the sentinels' focus was diverted to
responding to false threats, valuable attention was removed from
guarding against actual threats of terror attacks,thereby
endangering all of us."
Sze' s lawyer Chia Boon Teck urged the court to
consider his suitability for probation,citing his age, cooperation
with the authorities and excellent national service record.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Christine Liu sought an
18-month jail term pointing to the scale of resources mobilised and
comparing past cases.
The judge made clear that "it is vital to send a clear
message to all potential offenders that bomb hoaxes and threats of
terror attacks will be punished with substantial custodial
sentences".
"Singapore faces an ever-present terror threat that is
at its highest level in recent times. Against this backdrop of a
fraught security climate, bomb hoaxes clearly exploit general
apprehension and anxiety. Such reprehensible conduct must be
strongly punished and deterred," added DJ Ho.
Sze is on bail pending an appeal.
ST